Thin Ice
by GuardianDragon98
Summary: A simple day of ice skating turns into a life-or-death race against time for Zenna as she and Stryka go on a dangerous quest to save Eret's life. Rated T for some violence and because I'm slightly paranoid. Written with the help of my friend, WolfWitchHuntress1318. Story is better than summary, I promise ;)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there! Brand new story here :D**

**It's not exactly Snoggletog/Christmas themed (I'm still working out ideas for one-shots on that topic) but it does take place during winter.**

**WARNING: This may cause future tears in the later chapters.**

**Disclaimer Note: I do NOT own HTTYD or anything HTTYD-related. All rights go to their respective owners.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

El's giggles woke Zenna up from her deep sleep. Getting up, she realized that the winter snow had arrived upon feeling the chill in the air. Smiling, Zenna grabbed her coat and went downstairs for breakfast. Already Stryka, Zenna's one-eyed female Night Fury, was letting El put her violet scarf around her scaly neck. Elias II Stoick Fiersome, Zenna's baby brother, cooed as he tried to get the scarf on Stryka, only to have it get draped around himself. Henna and Edgar, Zenna and El's parents, were busily fixing up a good warm breakfast of hot oats and warm yak milk for their children.

"Let me help you with that, El. Here, you just put this around her once and then a little tuck in here…" Zenna smiled as she guided her little brother's tiny hands in putting the scarf around Stryka's neck. El giggled and patted his sister's face with his hands once the scarf was successfully put on. "I love you too, my brave dragon trainer." Zenna cooed, giving El a little kiss on his cute button nose. Stryka warbled to the little Fiersome and gave him a loving nuzzle, much to El's delight.

"Breakfast has arrived, my loves. Tuck in." Henna announced as Edgar set baskets of fish out for Stryka and his and his wife's Hideous Zippleback, Serpent and Serpentine. "Chilly day today, isn't it? Lots of snow as well." Edgar remarked as the family ate.

"Can I take El outside to play, Mom and Dad?" Zenna asked hopefully. At the word _outside_, El began to clap his hands. He loved going outside! Outside was where all the fun and adventures happened! "I don't see why not. But don't stray too far from the house and bundle up. We wouldn't want either of you catching a cold." Henna advised. Quickly finishing her oats, Zenna assisted El in putting on his coat, scarf, mittens and winter boots before putting on her own scarf and mittens. El began to fuss over how many layers of fabric and fur he had to put on and tried to toddle out of the house before his sister could put a warm hat on his head. Luckily Stryka snatched him up by his coat and brought him back to Zenna so she could put the hat on him.

"All bundled up. Now be careful, you two." Edgar told his daughter and son. Cuddling El close to her chest, Zenna went outside with Stryka. The whole village of Berk seemed to have been covered in a white blanket. Piles of snow were everywhere and, already, children were frolicking and playing about with some of the smaller dragons, Terrible Terrors and baby Scuttleclaws, laughing and shrieking with delight.

And it was still snowing.

El looked up at the sky, his violet eyes wide with wonder, as snowflakes rained down. Stryka crooned and stuck out her tongue to catch some falling snow. El giggled and stuck out his tongue as well. "You two are eating dust, you know that?" Zenna asked jokingly. Almost immediately Stryka and El both made faces and closed their mouths. Who would want to eat dust? Yuck!

"I have an idea. Let's make a snow dragon!" Zenna clapped her mitten-covered hands gleefully. Stryka and El both began to hop about with excitement. Working together, the two Fiersomes and one-eyed dragoness packed snow together to make a dragon's body. El had great fun shaping snowballs for the head and decorating the snow dragon with sticks and little pebbles. In the end, a Night Fury made of snow could be seen in front of the Fiersome house. Stryka warbled and pretended that the snow dragon was real. El giggled and squealed with delight as his sister's dragon warbled and crooned to the snow dragon. Meanwhile, Zenna was busy working on something special for her little brother: a stuffed Night Fury.

She had just finished sewing on one of the eyes when a hand suddenly covered her one violet eye, rendering her unable to see!

"Guess who?" an accented voice asked playfully. Zenna smiled knowingly. "Hmmm…Now, who could this be?" she asked. "Name starts with an E." the voice hinted. "Funny, El. I didn't know you could talk already." Zenna remarked to her little brother, who just babbled in his sweet baby talk. "Really, Zen?" the voice sighed out. Zenna laughed and gently pried the hand off of her face and spun to see Eret, Son of Eret grinning cheekily at her. "Hey…" Zenna whispered, gazing into the former dragon trapper's dreamy amber brown eyes. "Hey…" Eret said softly before they shared a brief kiss. Stryka and Skullcrusher, Eret's Rumblehorn who previously belonged to Hiccup's father, Stoick, both groaned and shielded El's eyes with their wings.

"Someone better call Hiccup. We have an albino Night Fury in front of the Fiersome house." Eret chuckled, admiring the snow dragon. El didn't see the kiss, but he did see his Uncle Eret. Squealing happily the little boy toddled over to Eret and held up his hands, wanting to be picked up. "Hey there, you little rascal!" Eret laughed, scooping the baby boy up in his arms and tickling him in the belly. El giggled and proceeded to try taking the Stormcutter pin on Eret's fur vest. Zenna couldn't help but smile at how adorable her boyfriend and her baby brother were together.

"And what brings you here to my humble abode?" Zenna asked, raising an eyebrow. Eret smiled and decided to just go for it. "Well the gang's all at the Cove. The pond there's frozen over and I was…hoping to maybe ask you out to go ice skating, perhaps?" he asked hopefully. Zenna smiled, delighted at the invitation. "I'd love to. Problem is…I don't have any skates." She replied. In response, Eret called Skullcrusher over and took out a new pair of skates from the saddle bag.

They were the perfect size for Zenna.

"I got them from Trader Johann a week ago. Cost me one of the saddles I made at the Dragon Armory." Eret said casually. Zenna took the skates and examined them. They were brand new black ones and even had snowflake patterns painted on them, the ice sliders shiny. "Eret, they're beautiful. Thank you." She said, embracing her boyfriend. "Consider it an early Snoggletog present." Eret smiled, hugging her.

Zenna and El's parents arrived outside to see Zenna trying on the new skates while Eret played with El around the snow dragon along with Skullcrusher and Stryka. Then El let out a small sneeze and decided on his own that he had enough play time in the snow for today and toddled over to his Mama.

"Eret and I are going skating. We'll be back later." Zenna told her parents as she and Eret got on Stryka and Skullcrusher. "Be careful!" Edgar and Henna called after them as they lifted off. "We will!" Eret hollered back as he and Zenna flew off on their dragons, headed for the Cove.

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><p><strong>I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of Thin Ice! More chapters to come soon ;)<strong>

**PS: Did anyone find the last paragraph reminiscent to another DreamWorks Animation film?**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	2. Chapter 2

**School might be resuming tomorrow now that the weather's starting to return to normal here. That's why I decided to have another update done. Hope you all like it.**

**NOTE: I do NOT own anything. All rights to HTTYD go to their respective owners.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

Arriving at the Cove, Zenna and Eret saw the rest of the gang already getting ready to hit the ice. Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were chatting amongst themselves while Toothless, Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug and Barf and Belch were playing around in the snow. Stryka happily bounded over to her mate, who warbled and lovingly nuzzled her.

"Ah, the second alpha couple finally arrives." Snotlout said jokingly, making Ruffnut giggle. "Don't you mean _third_?" Fishlegs corrected him, referring to Toothless and Stryka being the second alpha couple. Ruffnut laughed again, finding the husky Ingerman's joke funnier much to Snotlout's chagrin. "What is it with the alpha couples? Can't it just be plain couples?" Tuffnut groaned, wishing that the petty competition between Snotlout and Fishlegs for his sister's affection would just stop.

"Are we gonna discuss couple hierarchies here, or are we going ice skating?" Astrid piped up impatiently. "Shouldn't we test the ice first?" Hiccup asked, eyeing the pond suspiciously. "Good idea, Chief. And I think I have just the right method." Snotlout said, glancing at Fishlegs with a mischievous grin on his face. "Uh-oh…" Zenna mumbled. "Run for it, Fish." Eret warned the chubby blond Viking. But before Fishlegs could get a word in edgewise, Snotlout got on Hookfang and lifted the husky Ingerman up!

"Aaaahhhh! I don't wanna die!" Fishlegs screamed with terror. Then Snotlout had Hookfang lower him onto the ice _gently_. Fishlegs had his eyes squeezed shut so he didn't realize that he hadn't been dropped onto the ice like a heavy brick until he heard his friends whooping excitedly as they hit the ice.

"If the ice can handle Fishlegs, it can handle all of us." Zenna smiled, while putting the finishing touches on El's stuffed Night Fury by stitching her brother's name on the side. "What do you think?" Zenna asked Eret, showing him the toy. "El's going to love it for sure." The former dragon trapper smiled.

Hiccup and Astrid then noticed that Zenna and Eret were the only ones that hadn't gone to the ice. "Excuse me, lovebirds! Are you two ice skating with us or what?" Astrid called after them as Hiccup gave her a twirl. "We're coming, Astrid!" Zenna said and placed the stuffed Night Fury on her shoulders before suddenly remembering something.

She had forgotten how to skate!

"Holy Shields…Uh, Eret…there's something I need to tell you…" she mumbled as she and Eret got on the ice. "What is it, Zen?" Eret asked. Zenna wobbled uneasily on her skates and tried to take one step only to slip and almost fall. Good thing Eret caught her!

"I haven't skated in years…I forgot how to…" Zenna admitted sheepishly. "Well it's a good thing _I _haven't." Eret grinned and gently took Zenna's hand in his. At first, Zenna was hesitant to even take one step forward. But with Eret's guidance and some encouragement, she was back to being an ice skating pro.

"This is so much fun! I am enjoying this!" she laughed as she whizzed about on the ice with Eret. "We're actually doing better than most people, Zen." Eret said, glancing at the others.

Hiccup and Astrid were pretty good in the ice skating basics, but they still fell down every now and then. Fishlegs was having trouble just balancing while Snotlout had no idea how to stop and ended up skating right into a pile of snow while the Twins were just trying to spin each other off the ice!

"Eh, to each his or her own." Zenna shrugged as she did a graceful spin. Needless to say, she was having a lot of fun. The gang skated around the pond for a while, doing all sorts of tricks on the ice until…

'_CRACK!_'

Hiccup was the first to notice spider-web like cracks beginning to appear on the ice. Maybe they'd been on it a bit too long…

"Guys, I think we should leave." He warned his friends in a low voice, for fear anything loud might cause the ice to crack even further. The whole gang hastened to leave the frozen pond. In her haste, Zenna accidentally dropped the stuffed Night Fury!

"Oh man…I've been working on that for weeks!" Zenna said, sadly looking at the little toy dragon left abandoned in the middle of the pond. "No worries, I'll get it." Eret told her and, before anyone could stop him, got back on the ice.

"Dude! Are you crazy?!" Snotlout asked in shock.

"Eret, that might be thin ice!" Fishlegs squeaked nervously.

"Don't fall in…don't fall in…don't fall in…" Ruffnut chanted while Tuffnut stared at the crack-ridden ice in worry.

"I think we should get the dragons to help…" Hiccup suggested, worried that something could happen. But as Eret carefully made his way over to the toy, the ice remained stable. "I think he's gonna make it…I hope…" Astrid mumbled, feeling worried as well.

Zenna, meanwhile, anxiously held her breath. She just hoped that the ice wouldn't break while Eret was still on it. As a doctor, she knew that sudden immersion in ice cold water or sudden exposure to freezing temperatures could spell serious trouble for your health…

Believe it or not, Eret was a bit nervous himself. What with the weather in Berk already being cold enough to give frostbite on your spleen, he didn't exactly fancy going for a swim in freezing cold water right now…

Then he managed to grab the stuffed Night Fury by its tail.

Zenna and everyone else let out breaths they hadn't realized they'd been holding. Eret quickly said a silent prayer of thanks to the gods before turning around and held up the toy, much to Zenna's delight. The Dragon Doctor mouthed '_thank you_' to him and smiled in relief. Eret was feeling pretty pleased with himself as he took one step across the ice.

That's when it happened.

**CRRRRAAAAAACCCCKKKKK!**

Eret only had a brief glimpse of Zenna's relieved face morph into a terrified one before the ice underneath him gave way and he fell into the freezing cold water…

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><p><strong>Shocker, huh? Anyways, read and review. Those two things make me happy ;)<strong>

**-GuardianDragon98**


	3. Chapter 3

**Another update on Thin Ice! Hope you all like it ;)**

**Note: I do NOT own anything.**

**Chapter Three**

"ERET!"

The minute the ice broke, Zenna panicked along with Skullcrusher. Skullcrusher roared in alarm and immediately flew over to where his master had fallen in while Zenna tried to get back on the ice before Hiccup restrained her.

"Hiccup, let me go!" Zenna screamed, fighting against her brother's grip. "Zen, no! It's too dangerous!" the auburn headed Chief said, struggling to maintain his grip. "I have to save him!" Zenna protested, flailing around so much that it soon took Astrid and Snotlout helping Hiccup to hold her down! "Zenna, if you fall in then things will get worse!" Astrid told her firmly. "I don't care! Eret! _Eret_!" Zenna shrieked in protest. "Ow! Zen, calm down! Just calm down!" Snotlout yelped when Zenna's fist collided with his face.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut could only stare at the hole in the ice, shocked and stunned into silence along with the other dragons. Toothless and Stryka warbled as they tried to calm Zenna down, who was completely freaking out.

"He's not coming up…Oh, th-this isn't good…If he doesn't come up for air soon…" Fishlegs squeaked nervously. "He's gonna come up for air, Fishlegs. I know he is…" Hiccup said in a low voice as they all noticed the small air bubbles coming to the surface.

'_Come on, Eret…Come on…_' Hiccup thought worriedly, seeing the intense fear in Zenna's eye. That proud former dragon trapper just had to be okay…He just had to…

He was a pretty good swimmer. Normally he could easily swim to safety if he fell overboard a ship or fell in by accident.

But now, Eret felt paralyzed.

The cold was excruciatingly painful. It was like a million daggers were stabbing him all over his body, the cold leeching into and numbing his skin…

Panic seized Eret and he accidentally opened his mouth, inhaling a mouthful of ice water. He instantly regretted it. Now his lungs were burning from the combination of lack of oxygen and the intense cold. He could feel his eyes slowly beginning to close. He was getting really tired now…

'_Swim, you idiot! SWIM!_" A voice in his head suddenly screeched at him. Eret's eyes snapped open and he began to desperately kick for the surface. Just when he thought that he was never gonna make it, Eret got his head out of the water!

'_Sweet air!_' he thought as he gasped in relief. But no sooner had he taken a breath, Eret felt his whole body go limp again and he was pulled back underwater…

"Wait! There! I see him!" Tuffnut alerted the team, seeing Eret's head pop out of the water. But just when the team thought their friend was okay, he disappeared into the water again! "He's gone! He got pulled back underwater!" Ruffnut gasped in horror.

That's when Skullcrusher decided to take matters into his claws, wings and horn.

The Rumblehorn quickly did a power dive, ramming through the ice with his horn and going straight into the water. Ignoring the biting cold Skullcrusher swam over to his rapidly sinking Rider, whom he had managed to spot in the depths. Through his half-closed eyes, Eret saw his Rumblehorn swimming towards him. Frantically flailing his arms about, Eret managed to grab onto Skullcrusher's horn when his dragon got close enough. Once his Rider was holding onto his horn, Skullcrusher torpedoed out of the water and flew back to the other Riders, gently lowering a soaking wet Eret onto the ground.

"Th-th-th-thanks…S-Sk-Skull…cr-cru-crusher…" Eret stammered out gratefully, coughing the water out of his lungs. The Rumblehorn gave a grunt of worry and wrapped his wings around Eret to get him warm.

"_Eret!_" Zenna cried out, Hiccup, Astrid and Snotlout finally releasing her, and ran to her boyfriend. Cold and wet as he was, Eret managed to smile as he held up the stuffed Night Fury he had miraculously kept his hands on. "I g-g-got E-El's p-p-pr-present…" he stuttered, his teeth chattering. Zenna still couldn't believe that the proud, young man had just had a freezing dip all because of a toy she had accidentally dropped. "Holy Shields…Eret, you idiot…" she murmured, embracing her boyfriend.

Eret tried to return the hug, but he couldn't get his arms to work right. He was shivering violently now, his wet clothes beginning to turn stiff as the water dripping off of him began to freeze…

"C-c-can't f-f-feel a-a-any…th-thing…" he shuddered, feeling numb all over.

Not to mention sleepy…_so sleepy_…

Astrid was the first to notice that Eret was about to nod off and quickly acted…by slapping him hard in the face! "Astrid!" Zenna yelped in shock while Eret startled awake. "Wh-wh-what w-was th-that f-f-for?!" Eret winced, annoyed at what the blonde axe wielder did but also grateful that he was beginning to feel again.

"Don't close your eyes, Eret. Whatever you do: _Do not go to sleep_." Astrid told him sternly. "We need to get him back to the village." Hiccup said urgently. "Can you walk?" Zenna asked Eret worriedly. "I th-think s-s-so…" Eret muttered, trying to shrug.

Snotlout quickly suggested that Eret and Zenna ride on Hookfang since his Monstrous Nightmare could help in warming Eret back to normal temperature. Once Zenna had helped Eret onto Snotlout's dragon while Snotlout rode Stryka, the team flew back to the village of Berk at top speed.

Eret couldn't really remember much about what happened next. His mind was foggy due to the cold but he could remember bits and pieces of it.

Landing in front of his house…a warm fire…dry clothes being put on him and then being in bed…

Suddenly he remembered the stuffed Night Fury and asked Zenna, who had stayed by his side the whole time, if he could give it to El.

"I'll give it to him for you, Eret. Right now, you just need to stay in bed and rest…" Zenna murmured soothingly.

That's when Eret finally got his mind to refocus and realized that he was back in his house after all. Skullcrusher was on the other side of his bed and he reached out to pet him. "Th-thanks for saving me, Skull…" Eret said weakly. Skullcrusher crooned and gently nudged Eret's cold hand.

Zenna sighed as she drew the covers up to Eret's chin. Stryka was nearby, keeping the fire in the hearth going. "The others are outside…You sure gave us one heck of a scare…" she said softly. "S-sorry…" Eret mumbled, eyelids drooping. "It's alright…Just rest…" Zenna whispered as her boyfriend gave a feeble yawn. "I don't care what Astrid says…I'm going to sleep…Keep her axe away from me will you, Zen…?" Eret mumbled, already half-asleep but still remembering the Hofferson shield maiden's warning from earlier. "Don't worry, Eret…I won't let you suffer her wrath…" Zenna chuckled, slightly amused as she stroked Eret's slightly damp hair. Eret gave a twitch of a smile before he finally let himself drift off…

Zenna sighed heavily as she continued stroking Eret's head. They'd managed to make it back to the village in record time but Zenna was still reeling from the intense shock she and the others had gotten when they saw Eret fall through the ice.

Gods, if she just hadn't dropped the stuffed Night Fury by accident…

Zenna's thoughts were interrupted when her friends came in, along with her family.

"Hiccup filled us in…We were all pretty worried when we saw you all fly into the village in such a hurry…" Edgar said to his daughter. "Is he alright?" Henna asked, looking at Eret worriedly. "I think he's okay. He just fell asleep…" Zenna replied, still worried. El began to cry once he saw his Uncle Eret in bed. For the little boy, if someone was in bed early it meant that they were sick.

Was his big sister's boyfriend, his Uncle Eret, sick?

"It's okay, El…He's okay…Just a little tired, that's all…" Zenna said soothingly when the little baby boy toddled over to the bed. El stopped crying but still whimpered. Then Zenna handed him the stuffed Night Fury.

"Look, El. Uncle Eret saved him for you…" Zenna said softly. El's violet eyes widened in surprise before he eagerly reached out his little hands to receive the toy.

What the youngest Fiersome did next surprised everyone.

"_Eret_." Elias II Stoick Fiersome had said his first word.

Hiccup, Astrid and the other Dragon Riders nearly gushed at the little boy's first real word. Edgar and Henna nearly burst into tears while Zenna felt a tear slide down her cheek as her little brother cuddled the toy dragon to his chest.

"Eret…" El said again, looking at his sister's boyfriend sleeping in bed. Zenna felt another tear slide down her cheek.

Her baby brother's first word…was her boyfriend's name.

"Is that your dragon's name too?" Zenna asked softly. "Eret!" El giggled, waving the stuffed dragon around to make it look like it was flying…and also waking Eret up.

"Someone call me…?" the former dragon trapper mumbled sleepily. "El said his first word, Eret. He said his first word." Zenna informed him. Then, to Eret's surprise and amazement, El said, "_Eret!_" again.

"No way…" Eret mumbled before looking at Hiccup and slightly smirked. "I win the bet, Chief." He said proudly. "That you did, Eret. That you did…" Hiccup sighed, holding his hands up in surrender. Zenna looked at the two in confusion. "What bet?" she asked suspiciously.

Snotlout decided to explain. "Oh, a couple of days ago, the two of them were betting on what El's first word was gonna be. Hiccup bet on his name while Eret bet on _his_." He informed Zenna. The Dragon Doctor raised an eyebrow at the two men, who both had the decency to blush.

"You know what else, Zen? They didn't even settle on a wager. They just placed their bet." Astrid piped up. "Eret and I never really figured out what to wager on. It was just a friendly bet." Hiccup admitted sheepishly. "I'm just glad that I won it." Eret managed to say before coughing a little.

"We should probably go and let you rest, man…" Fishlegs suggested. "Nearly drowning…that must be exhausting." Tuffnut remarked. "Get well soon, Eret." Ruffnut said as she, her brother, Snotlout and Fishlegs left. "Bye, El…" Eret smiled as Edgar and Henna took their son home as well. "Eret!" El giggled as he and his stuffed Night Fury waved bye-bye as well.

Hiccup and Astrid were the last ones to leave. "You just take it easy, Eret. I'll inform Gobber about your absence in the forge." Hiccup told the former dragon trapper. "Thanks, Hiccup. I appreciate it." Eret told him gratefully. Astrid chose to give Eret a little talking to before she left. "Next time you wanna do something crazy, Eret, think first before you act." She reminded the former dragon trapper. "Whatever keeps you from using your axe on me, Astrid." Eret rolled his eyes at her.

Hiccup and Astrid then left, leaving Eret and Zenna alone with their dragons.

"You're staying?" Eret asked his girlfriend. "Well, someone's gotta take care of you…" Zenna shrugged, not leaving Eret's bedside. "Besides…I kind of like watching you sleep." The one-eyed woman added shyly. Eret felt his face warm up due to his nerves before getting into another coughing fit.

"Shh…shh…it's alright…it's alright…" Zenna said soothingly, rubbing Eret's back as he coughed. Once he had coughed himself out, Eret sank back into the covers. "I never thought that coughing could tire you out so much…" the former dragon trapper muttered, exhausted. Zenna gently brushed a hand against Eret's cheek. "You just get some sleep, Eret…I'm here…" she whispered softly.

Eret cracked a smile as he closed his eyes. "I love you forever, Zen…" he mumbled before falling asleep. Zenna felt her heart flutter as she watched her boyfriend sleep. Eret just looked so cute when he was sleeping…

Then, after a little while, she decided to climb into bed next to him. Call her clingy, but Zenna figured that maybe her warmth could give Eret some comfort.

"…I love you, Eret, Son of Eret…" Zenna whispered into her boyfriend's ear. Eret slightly stirred in his sleep, snuggling closer to Zenna who smiled as she, too, drifted off to sleep…

**Worked on this chapter's draft during school today. Hope I did alright…Read and review please ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone ;)**

**This weekend, I'll be working on my new chapters for HTTYD2 and Riders and Defenders of Berk so you might not be seeing any updates for this story for a short while. But don't worry, I'll still continue it ;)**

**For now, enjoy this rather…hot update. Nothing too…intense. Just plenty enough Rated T material to make your feels go haywire ;)**

**Note: I do NOT own anything.**

**Chapter Four**

Zenna woke up a few hours later, the night already settling into Berk, to the sound of Eret softly whimpering. Looking at the former trapper's pained face Zenna deduced that he was having a nightmare…

"Eret? Eret?" Zenna whispered, trying to shake him awake but to no avail. Eret was too lost in his nightmare…

**(Nightmare Starts)**

'_Fourteen year old Eret thrashed about in the grip of one of Drago's soldiers while another soldier shoved his father to Drago, who was glaring daggers at the young lad's father._

"No! Da, no!" _Eret yelled as his father pleaded to the madman. _"Kill me if you want! Just not in front of my son, I beg you!" _Eret's father begged, already accepting his fate but also worrying that his son would be scarred for life should he watch him die. _"Don't kill him! He's my dad! He's the only family I have left! _Please!_" _Eret screamed, not bothering to hold back his tears._

_Drago merely grinned sadistically._

"If there's one thing I hate more than men who refuse…it's men who beg." _He sneered. Eret could have shut his eyes, but he was too paralyzed by fear…as he watched Drago run his bull hook through his Da's body._

_He wasn't sure who screamed in pain louder: him or his father._

"Son…be brave, Eret…It'll be alright, son…I…love…you…"

_Eret could only watch, transfixed in horror, as his father breathed his last and his whole world caved in. The poor lad cried, screamed, in agony as Drago mutilated his father's dead body and threw the remains into the frigid waters. His father was gone…His Da, the only family he ever had, gone…_

"Release him." _Drago ordered the soldier who was holding the lad tight. The soldier obeyed and released Eret, who just curled up into a ball as he sobbed uncontrollably. _"Da…No, Da…" _Eret cried softly, tears running down his face. Then Drago's shadow loomed over him menacingly. Eret couldn't stop shaking as Drago forced him to stand._

"You're Da's no longer here. Now, you belong to me…" _Drago told him in a low voice, eyes glinting with malice. _"I don't belong to you…You killed my Da, you _monster_!" _Eret cried out, trying and failing to sound brave. Drago glared daggers at him and then began to wave his bull hook in the air, screaming maniacally._

_Eret fearfully began to back away from the madman. Suddenly…Drago's Bewilderbeast emerged from the depths! The boy's amber brown eyes widened in absolute terror at the sight. He'd seen dragons before…but never one as massive as this…_

"You _will _obey me! _Or else_…" _Drago threatened him as the Bewilderbeast readied its ice blast! Eret tried to run, but there was no escape. The only thing he could do now was hope that his death would be swift._

_And scream for his father._

"Da, help me!" _Eret screamed as the Bewilderbeast fired at him! Then, just as the ice neared him, Eret heard his father screaming as well…_

"**ERET!**"

_Then everything went black…'_

**(Nightmare Ends)**

"Eret…"

"Eret…!"

"Eret!"

"ERET, WAKE UP!"

The former dragon trapper woke up with a gasp. For a second, he forgot where he was. That's when Eret felt someone's soft hands gently holding his face. "Eret? Eret, it's okay…You're safe. Just look at me, Eret…It's alright…" Zenna whispered soothingly as Eret blinked his eyes at her.

That's when Eret realized that it was all just a nightmare. He was home in bed, safe and sound, with Zenna lying next to him.

"Was it Drago again?" Zenna asked softly. Eret nodded. "I saw him kill Da all over again…And it still hurts so much…" he whispered, the nightmare replaying in his head over and over again until he wasn't sure if he could handle the pain anymore.

Zenna noticed the tears beginning to well up in Eret's eyes and gently embraced him, letting her boyfriend bury his face into her shoulder as he began to cry silently. Eret, normally, would have been too embarrassed to cry. But Zenna…well, she understood him. And it really was too painful for him to bear. Eret couldn't help it. He missed his Da so much…

"It still hurts, Zenna…It still hurts…" he whimpered quietly as the tears soon stopped. "I know…I know…" Zenna said softly, hugging him. Once Eret calmed down he and Zenna just stayed there in his bed, just embracing each other in the dark as the fire in the hearth had gone out.

"I'm sorry for making you worry about me…" Eret apologized, feeling guilty. "You're my _boyfriend_, Eret. It's my _job _to worry about you." Zenna told him, realizing that it was already dark out.

And that meant…a wonderful opportunity for her.

"Shouldn't you be going home? I think El's probably wondering where you are right now…" Eret asked Zenna. The one-eyed Fiersome lady merely smiled.

But something about her smile…made Eret uneasy.

"Uh, Zen…?" Eret mumbled as his girlfriend smiled in a manner he could only describe right now as _seductive_. Without warning, Zenna just closed the gap between her and Eret in a lingering, needy kiss. Eret was stunned. But, then again, he probably should have seen this coming. The two of them alone in bed, already too dark for prying eyes to notice them…and Zenna's fiercely possessive nature over him…it was a surefire recipe for something wild.

Zenna didn't hear Eret's muffled yelp as she kissed him harder. Twelve years…12 whole freaking years of being apart from her childhood sweetheart had made her and her lips _starving_ for him. Finally, Eret saw that there was no way he was getting out of this make out session and decided to just go along for the ride. He started kissing her back, savoring the taste and feel of Zenna's sweet, soft lips against his. But after a while, he started wanting more and gently prodded his beloved's bottom lip with his tongue. Zenna moaned as their kiss became more passionate. Her hands tangled themselves in Eret's raven hair while he held her close and brushed her long, black hair back.

When they finally broke apart for air, both Zenna and Eret were panting heavily and their faces were both flushed.

"You…sure know…how to surprise me…" Eret said breathlessly, still feeling the rush from the kiss. "I've been wanting…to do that…for years…" Zenna told him, breathless as well.

Then Eret smiled, deciding to surprise her as well.

He gently kissed Zenna on the forehead, before gliding his lips down to her cheek…and then down to her lovely neck. "Well _I've _been wanting to do _this _for years as well…" he whispered, trailing kisses up Zenna's beautiful neck. Tilting her head back, Zenna softly moaned as Eret's kisses turned into love bites that gave her nothing but pleasure.

"Holy Shields, Eret…" she whimpered softly as her boyfriend began to gently nip and suck at her pulse point, leaving a mark of conquest. "You like that?" Eret whispered to her, nuzzling her lovingly. "Mmm-hmmm…So much…" Zenna purred contentedly.

Unbeknownst to the couple currently making out on the bed, a certain one-eyed female Night Fury and a certain former Chief's male Rumblehorn…were their unlucky audience.

Stryka looked at the two humans committing such a heinously, mentally scarring act once and immediately turned around. Skullcrusher couldn't see himself, but he knew that he was turning green in places where he shouldn't be green and turned around as well.

'_Skullcrusher…do me a favor and just claw my eye out already…_' Stryka mumbled, feeling mortified that she had seen her non-dragon sister in such a…lascivious state. '_I would gladly do that for you, my Queen…But I do not think that the King will approve…_' Skullcrusher respectfully refused, knowing that he could very well be in deep trouble with Toothless if he were to ever lay a claw on the Queen.

Looks like they were just gonna have to look away and cover their ears for as long as their Riders were doing their strange…mating ritual.

'_Gods above, if this is just making out I do __**not **__want to attend their marriage consummation…_' Skullcrusher groaned along with his Rider, who was still making out with Zenna, shuddering at the mental image he suddenly gave himself. '_Oh Odin, you just had to bring __**that **__up?_' Stryka sighed, covering her ears as Zenna moaned loudly.

In other words, the Riders had a really good night. Their dragons…nope.

Ending their make out session for the night with one last passionate kiss, Eret and Zenna cuddled together in bed. Zenna was smiling so hard, her cheeks kind of hurt. Eret, on the other hand, felt the pull of sweet slumber beckoning him. As Zenna gently stroked his cheek, Eret managed to sleepily mumble, "I love you, Zenna…I love you forever…" before he fell asleep. Zenna smiled and laid her head on Eret's chest. "Right back at you…" she whispered before she fell asleep again.

Skullcrusher and Stryka both heaved sighs of relief at that point.

Thor Almighty, today had been a crazy day…

**Read and review. Those two things make me very happy ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello. My update for HTTYD2 will be coming soon this week. Christmas Break for me is going to start on Friday after our Class Christmas Party so…I'll be free to write to my heart's content until January 4 ;)**

**In the meantime, I hope this update to Thin Ice will satisfy your cravings for the time being.**

**Cheers! And Advance Happy Snoggletog :D**

**Note: I do NOT own HTTYD. All rights go to their respective owners.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

The next day and the day after that, Eret was feeling perfectly fine. It was if the accident on the thin ice never happened. Of course, he and Zenna…they _did _get into some trouble with Zenna's parents (_mostly with Edgar, Zenna's extremely protective father_) the morning Zenna came home from Eret's house where she had spent the night. Luckily Zenna managed to diffuse the situation before her father began to suspect some things and the whole incident of her sleeping at her boyfriend's house was completely forgotten.

Eret was in high spirits, gamely participating in any activity his friends were doing. But it still didn't make Zenna worry less about him and his health. "I _still _think that you should stay indoors for a while. It's getting colder." The Dragon Doctor said worriedly to Eret as they joined their friends in a special Dragon Race to end the season before Snoggletog. "And miss out on all the fun? That hardly seems fair!" Eret laughed as he and Skullcrusher stole the black sheep from Hiccup and Toothless, which they promptly dropped into Zenna's net.

Zenna was pretty touched at her man's sweet gesture of helping her win the Dragon Race…but still worried about Eret.

Especially when he started coughing shortly after the Race.

"See? I told you!" Zenna told him, hoping that he wasn't coming down with anything serious. "Don't worry, Zenna. I'm fine." Eret chided her, not worried at all.

The coughing began the day after the incident. The next day…it got worse.

That wasn't the only thing Eret was having trouble with. The entire day, he completely felt way off. His head hurt like crazy, he felt dizzy whenever he flew on Skullcrusher and he had coughing fits that usually left him winded and short of breath. But, not wanting to trouble his friends, Eret made sure to hide the fact that he was starting to feel sick by keeping his spirits up and always raring to go. That evening, he gratefully collapsed into bed.

'_It's probably just a 48-hour kind of thing…I'll be fine tomorrow…_' he thought before he fell asleep, thinking that he'd be alright by tomorrow morning.

Oh, was he wrong…

* * *

><p>Skullcrusher was having a good dream of flying and fishing with his former Rider, Stoick, when he was awoken by the sounds of Eret coughing violently. The Rumblehorn snorted, a little annoyed of having his sleep disturbed and waddled over to his Rider's bedside.<p>

His annoyance turned into fear once his bloodhound-like nose caught a strong whiff of the scent of illness.

Eret felt his whole body convulse with every cough. His head felt like he'd been clobbered with a hammer and his ears were ringing. He felt cold too, despite the blanket he was wrapped in and his forehead was beaded in cold sweat and felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. His lungs were the worst off. Eret felt like he was drowning, his lungs clogged with thick mucus that hindered his breathing and forced him to go into violent coughing fits to try and clear them…

Skullcrusher grunted worriedly as his Rider coughed himself out. Eret felt like he was close to passing out before seeing his dragon looking at him with a scared look on his scaly face.

"Get Zenna…Hurry…_Please…_" he rasped, shaking slightly in bed, feeling colder now. Skullcrusher didn't need to be told twice. After lighting the fireplace so Eret could get a little warmth, the faithful Rumblehorn left the house and flew off to find the one-eyed Dragon Doctor.

* * *

><p>Hiccup and Zenna had decided to go on an early morning patrol that day. As the two of them flew about on Toothless and Stryka, the two bond siblings chatted on the day's to-do's. Suddenly Toothless and Stryka let out alarm barks as Skullcrusher came flying out of nowhere and nearly rammed into them mid flight!<p>

"Whoa! Skullcrusher! What're you doing here all by yourself, boy?" Hiccup asked in surprise. The Rumblehorn merely snorted, flying around in frantic little circles.

'_Skullcrusher, what's going on?_' Toothless rumbled. '_Eret is sick, Your Majesty. My Rider needs the Queen's Rider now!_' Skullcrusher grunted worriedly. At Skullcrusher's words, Stryka crooned worriedly to Zenna, who remembered that Skullcrusher rarely went out flying without Eret. If the Rumblehorn was out flying by himself then that meant…

"_Eret_…" Zenna whispered fearfully.

Without a second to lose, Hiccup, Toothless, Zenna and Stryka followed Skullcrusher to Eret's house.

* * *

><p>The pain just wouldn't let up. Every breath he took was torture. It was like being branded all over again…only the pain had gone from his chest to pretty much all over his body.<p>

Moaning weakly, Eret tried to get out of bed. But he had barely managed to sit up when his stomach heaved and he leaned over to the side, retching horribly. Once he had pretty much vomited whatever that could come up into his throat, Eret collapsed back into the bed as he gasped for air.

"H-help…" he whispered weakly to no one particular, sick and scared. The last thing he heard before passing out was someone opening his door…

"Eret! Eret, are you okay?" Zenna called out loudly as she, Hiccup and their dragons entered the house. When they didn't hear a response, they quickly rushed over to Eret's room. Skullcrusher whined worriedly, seeing that his Rider had lost his lunch and had passed out and tried to nudge him awake but to no avail.

"Holy Shields, Eret…" Zenna mumbled in shock as she went to him and carefully placed her hand on the former dragon trapper's sweat covered brow. Almost immediately, Zenna flinched and drew her hand back.

_He was burning up_…

But it didn't make any sense! Eret was fine yesterday…and the day _before _yesterday! He really was! How could he have suddenly gotten so sick?!

"Zen, we need to take him to Gothi's…" Hiccup said upon seeing Eret's pallor and hearing his strained breaths. Zenna was close to panicking. She was a doctor, alright, but she was so worried and shocked over the fact that Eret had suddenly gotten ill that she didn't even know what to do! Luckily Hiccup's words got her to focus and calm down. With their dragons' help, they managed to get Eret, who was still out cold, out of his bed and out of the house.

"Please be okay…Please be okay…" Zenna whispered to Eret, whom she had carefully gotten onto Stryka's saddle, as they flew to Gothi's. Eret let out a small moan that sounded a lot like a weak cry for…

"_Help…_"

Zenna heard her boyfriend and gently squeezed his shoulders. "Just hang in there, Eret…Just hang in there…" she whispered, hoping that the former dragon trapper could still hear her.

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><p><strong>Poor Eret…Will he be okay?<strong>

**Until the next update, read and review!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi everyone. I'm sorry to say that I won't be able to post any special Snoggletog stories this week, even if it's Christmas because of some reasons…**

**1. I'm also working on this Project in my Filipino Class and Assignment in English Class that I have to do over Christmas Break. (Seriously, where's the break part in that when I still have homework to do?)**

**2. My Riders and Defenders of Berk story, my HTTYD2 story and my special ROTG Christmas story are what I'm focusing on finishing along with this one.**

**Anyway, I'm really sorry :(**

**But I hope this chapter makes it up to you all.**

**Note: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING. All rights to HTTYD, HTTYD2 and the entire franchise go to DreamWorks Animation, Dean DeBlois and Cressida Cowell.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

"Okay, Meatlug…Careful…" Fishlegs said as he and his Gronckle settled onto Gothi's porch with a pack of rare teas the elder had asked from Trader Johann that he was assigned to deliver that morning. Fishlegs smiled as he took in the early morning view. Snoggletog was a couple of weeks away and, although the dragons would soon have to temporarily leave for breeding season, he couldn't have asked for a better way to start this wonderful day with his dragon by helping Gothi out.

But then Fishlegs' peaceful admiration of the view with Meatlug was interrupted when the chubby Ingerman was alerted by Meatlug giving a worried croon as she looked out into the horizon. Following Meatlug's gaze, Fishlegs saw two Night Furies and a Rumblehorn flying over to Gothi's house at top speed!

"Fishlegs, get Gothi! Quick!"

It took Fishlegs about a second to hear Hiccup's frantic yell and realize that the Chief was coming over with Zenna. But what really shocked him was when Zenna and Hiccup landed Toothless and Stryka, along with Skullcrusher. Eret was in Zenna's arms, face pale and unconscious!

"Oh, Thor! What happened to him?" Fishlegs squeaked in horror. "He's sick…" Hiccup said gravely as he went to Gothi's door and knocked as loud as he could. Meanwhile Zenna had taken off her white coat and put it over Eret to try and keep him from getting too cold. Eret moaned weakly and shivered, the coat doing little to keep him warm. Skullcrusher rumbled worriedly and draped his wing over Eret. At that point, the former dragon trapper opened his eyes. "What happened…?" he mumbled woozily, his brown eyes glassy and unfocused. "It's okay, Eret…It's okay…You're okay…" Zenna whispered soothingly, gently stroking his hair. But at that point Eret got into another coughing fit. What was really bad about this one that he started coughing up something that resembled blood!

"Eret…Eret, stay with me…Don't sleep…Eret!" Zenna said, her voice rising in pitch as Eret continued coughing until he passed out again. At that point Gothi opened the door, a little annoyed that her sleep had been disturbed so early in the morning. "Gothi, help!" Zenna cried out, getting all the more worried as Eret's breathing became more labored. The elder immediately stopped being annoyed and quickly motioned to Hiccup and Fishlegs to carry Eret inside. Zenna wanted to come inside as well but Gothi made her stay outside. She could tell that Zenna was panicking and that the young lady needed to calm down for a minute.

But Zenna _couldn't _calm down. Not while her boyfriend was inside, sick and shaking. Pretty soon, she started hyperventilating and it took Toothless, Stryka, Skullcrusher and Meatlug all wrapping their wings around her and frantically giving the one-eyed Dragon Doctor little licks to calm her down.

"Eret, please be okay…Please be okay, Eret…Please…" Zenna chanted worriedly. Eret was strong. He had to be okay…

_He just had to…_

* * *

><p>Gothi quietly tut-tutted as she listened to Eret's labored breathing and gently lifted one of his eyelids before grimly shaking her head. Hiccup and Fishlegs anxiously stood on the sidelines, too tense to move until Gothi finally finished examining their friend. Waving her staff, Gothi instructed Fishlegs to brew some of the tea he had brought. Fishlegs did just that as fast as he could. Once the tea had been brewed, Gothi had Hiccup prop Eret upright while she administered the tea to Eret. The former dragon trapper was half-conscious at that point and managed to swallow half of the tea before falling completely unconscious again.<p>

Gothi scrawled a couple of runes into the dirt which Fishlegs translated. "She says that the tea she gave Eret is gonna help clear his lungs a bit, but…" the chubby Ingerman managed to say before paling as Gothi drew more runes. "What? What is it?" Hiccup mumbled uneasily before remembering that he could also read Gothi's writing and read the runes the elder had scribbled into the dirt, paling as well.

The two Vikings could only look at Eret worriedly before glancing at each other, both having the same fearful thought: How were they going to break the news to Zenna?

* * *

><p>"Come on…What's taking them so long…?" Zenna muttered, frantically pacing back-and-forth while the dragons tensely perched on the roof. Finally the door opened and Hiccup got out. "Hiccup!" Zenna rushed to embrace the auburn-headed Chief and looked at him, worry evident in her face.<p>

After deciding that it was best for him to tell Zenna instead of Fishlegs, Hiccup now felt nervous. Zenna looked so worried, he wasn't really sure if he should tell her what he and Fishlegs had found out from Gothi.

"Gothi's figured out what's wrong. Eret, he's…" Hiccup managed to say before suddenly trailing off. "He's what?" Zenna asked worriedly. Hiccup kept his mouth shut. "He's what, Hiccup?" Zenna asked again, more forceful this time. Hiccup still didn't answer. Zenna, stressed and angry, finally took hold of his shoulders and roughly shook him. "Out with it, Hiccup! Eret is _what_?!" she screamed at him.

Finally, Hiccup couldn't take it anymore and told Zenna, "He's got a severe case of pneumonia and it's winning, Zen! _He's dying!_"

The instant he shouted out the truth, Hiccup instantly regretted it.

Zenna just stood there, frozen, trying to let the news sink in. Once the reality sunk in and she realized that she was going to lose Eret, her sweet and gentlemanly boyfriend, Zenna began to hyperventilate!

"Oh no…Zen, no…Please…I'm so sorry…" Hiccup murmured as he gently embraced his panicking sister, hoping to calm her down. Zenna's breathing kept accelerating, but then she willed herself to stop hyperventilating. But as soon as she did that, she began to cry. "No…No…Gods, no…Not Eret…Not him…Anyone but him…No…" she sobbed into Hiccup's shoulder.

Eret couldn't be dying…

_He just couldn't be…_

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for the other Riders to find out what was going on and to get to Gothi's that morning. Eret had been moved to a vacant bed and was still unconscious. But at least he was sleeping without too much pain. Zenna was right by his side and gently running her fingers through his hair, which seemed to soothe him.<p>

"How did this happen? Eret was doing fine yesterday and the day before that." Astrid asked, concerned for the former dragon trapper. Gothi scribbled down some runes. "She says that in some cases, illnesses stay dormant within a person's body and only manifest when the symptoms become even worse. But in Eret's case, she thinks that he started showing symptoms of pneumonia early. What she wonders is when." Fishlegs translated.

That's when everyone remembered the accident.

"He started coughing after the last Dragon Race." Snotlout said. "That was the day after the accident." Ruffnut chimed in. Gothi looked at the team expectantly and drew more runes. "She wants to know about the accident." Hiccup translated for her this time. "He fell through thin ice when we were ice skating at the Cove's pond the other day…I think he was in the water for a while…" Tuffnut spoke up.

At this, Gothi gasped in alarm and drew more runes. Fishlegs paled as he read them. "A fall into ice cold water and staying in it for longer than a minute could definitely give someone pneumonia. What's really bad about Eret's case is that it's instantly gone severe…Worse still, we don't have any medicine powerful enough to cure him…" he said grimly.

Zenna felt her heart drop into her stomach at that last sentence. Oh Odin, there had to be something to cure Eret! Anything!

"Gothi, please tell me that you know something that we could use to cure him…" she looked to the elder hopefully. Gothi thoughtfully scratched her chin before remembering something. But her face was grim as she drew another set of runes. Hiccup looked at them carefully.

"She says that there _is _a rare plant that grows during winter. It's called _Frost Ivy_. According to Gothi, if the leaves are pounded, mixed with water and boiled, it can cure any illness caused by the cold. The problem is…it only grows on an island known as Dragater and it's at least two days away from Berk. But that's not what's bad…" the 20 year-old Chief said. "What's bad about Dragater? Aside from the weird name, that is." Snotlout snickered, earning a punch in the arm from Astrid.

Hiccup's next words sent chills down everyone's spine, including himself.

"The island's name is a combination of _Dragon _and _Eater_…_The tribe that live on that_ _island_ _eat dragons_." Hiccup said, paling noticeably at his last sentence. Everyone was silent at that point, not sure if they wanted to risk getting their dragons captured and turned into dinner for those Dragon Eaters. It sounded too risky…

But Zenna was ready to take the risk.

"I'll go to Dragater." She spoke up. Everyone looked at her in shock. "Zenna, are you crazy?" Snotlout asked. "Stryka and I are both fast. I'm sure we can get the Frost Ivy before any of those Dragon Eaters get to us." The one-eyed Fiersome lady said surely. "Then Toothless and I will come with you." Hiccup offered. "No, Hiccup. Stryka and I need to do this on our own. You're the Chief and you have a duty to your people." Zenna refused. "Then Stormfly and I can go with you." Astrid stepped in. "I'm sorry, Astrid. But this calls for the least number of people and dragons. If you and the other Riders come with me and Stryka to Dragater, we'll be too big a target." Zenna shook her head before worriedly looking at Eret.

"Besides, I need you guys to stay here and look after Eret…" she added before she and everyone else noticed Eret's eyes flutter open.

"Where…am I…?" Eret mumbled, dazed and confused. Zenna smiled gently at him and adjusted the blankets to keep him warm. "You're at Gothi's, Eret…You kind of passed out a while ago…" she said softly. "How are you feeling?" Ruffnut asked, a little worried. Eret managed a slight smile. "Awful, like I've been sat on by Grump…Throat's kinda sore, too…" he croaked, coughing again.

"Easy now, Eret…Just take it easy." Zenna said softly, giving him some water. After soothing his parched throat, Eret felt like he wanted to go back to sleep. "Sleepy…" he mumbled, his eyelids drooping. "You just get some rest. Don't worry about Skullcrusher, we'll take care of him Eret." Astrid told him nicely. "Thanks…" Eret managed to say before falling asleep.

Once Eret was fast asleep, Zenna turned to Gothi. "How bad is it?" she asked quietly. Gothi sighed and scribbled some more runes in the dirt. "It's really bad, Zen…At this point, you have five days to get the cure before…you know…" Hiccup translated, giving Zenna a worried look.

Zenna took about a minute to absorb all this information. There was a way to save Eret. And that was a plant called Frost Ivy that grew on an island filled with dragon eating cannibals. And she had five days to get the Frost Ivy for the cure before…

'_Before Eret dies…Five days…I only have five days…_' Zenna thought before her mind was made up.

"I'm going to go to Dragater. And I'm going to get the cure, _no matter what_." The Dragon Doctor said with determination.

She was going to save Eret…or die trying.

**Next Chapter is going to mostly focus on Zenna and Stryka's preparations for their solo mission. Anyways, Happy Holidays everyone and please read and review ;)**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry if this took so long to post…I only have a few days of Christmas Break left and we've been going out of the house lately these days…**

**Anyways, read and review ;)**

**Note: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING**

**Chapter 7**

By noon, Zenna and Stryka were ready for their mission. Having packed the saddlebag with enough lightweight food for her and Stryka, a medical kit in case of any sustained injuries and, by Hiccup's insistence, the Dragon Blade, Inferno, Zenna was ready for the journey to Dragater.

"Hicc, I already have my battle sticks. Plus when Stryka goes into Titan Mode, she's practically unstoppable." Zenna politely refused when her Chief gave it to him. "Zen, it'll make me and Toothless feel a whole lot better if you have it." Hiccup insisted, placing Inferno in his sister's hands. Zenna finally conceded and strapped Inferno to her waist after taking it out of the saddlebag. Her family helped her finish the necessary preparations and were, now, with her outside their family's house. El whimpered as he gave his big sister a kiss on the cheek. Zenna smiled lovingly at her baby brother. "Don't worry, El. Stryka and I will be back in less than five days. Until we return, Mama and Dada will be here to protect you with Serpent and Serpentine. And, remember, you have Eret with you." She said softly, pointing to the stuffed Night Fury in El's hands. El nodded and opened his little mouth.

"Zewnwa, come howme wid Stwykwa…pwease?" little El said quietly. Henna and Edgar now stifled their tears as their Zippleback curled around the family with Stryka. Zenna smiled and nodded. "Stryka and I will come home. We promise. Right, girl?" the one-eyed Dragon Doctor said gently. "_We prrrooommmwwiissssee_…" Stryka crooned. Henna and Edgar hugged Zenna, who tightly hugged them back. "Be safe, love…" Edgar whispered. "We'll be okay, Dad…" Zenna said, a little unsure whether she and Stryka would really be okay. "We'll keep an eye on Eret…Try to keep him comfortable and stable until you and Stryka return. But, sweetheart, _please _be careful…" Henna said worriedly as she kissed her daughter on the forehead. "Stryka and I will be back soon, Mom. Don't worry." Zenna reassured her mother.

Getting on Stryka, Zenna flew up into the sky. But she made sure to stop by Gothi's, where her friends and their dragons were keeping vigil.

"Make sure those Dragon Eaters don't get you and Stryka, Zen." "If they test you two, unleash the pain!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut told her supportively.

"We'll keep a close eye on Eret and make sure he doesn't get any worse." Fishlegs said meekly. "If you and Stryka aren't back in five days, we'll go into panic mode and send a search party out for you two." Snotlout reminded her.

Zenna turned to Astrid and Hiccup. "Keep him safe." She said simply to Astrid. "You can count on me, Zen." The blonde Hofferson shield maiden said in affirmation, holding her battle axe. Hiccup gave Zenna a tight hug. "Be careful…" the one-legged Chief whispered to her as he tried not to show how worried he was. "…I…make no promises." Zenna mumbled, feeling nervous.

Then she excused herself and went inside Gothi's house. The elder had been expecting her and handed Zenna a box containing a set of glass syringes, rare equipment that was hard to come by for healers, and drew down some runes.

"Sometimes the quickest way to get medicine to work is through injecting them directly into the bloodstream…Thank you, Gothi…" Zenna said quietly before checking on Eret. The former dragon trapper was still asleep, but Zenna could hear him mumbling in his sleep.

"Not gonna…let you go…Promise…"

Zenna looked at Eret in confusion, wondering what her boyfriend could possibly be dreaming about…

**(Eret's Dream)**

'_The earthquake had already stopped but aftershocks were still hitting the South. Eret had been put in charge of locating any injured people outside the village with his Wolf Pack Army trainees. They went into the forest, shouting out so people could hear them._

_They searched the forest for almost an hour until another aftershock shook the ground! _"Get down, lads!" _Eret shouted frantically as he crouched down on the ground, his trainees following his lead. But, suddenly..._

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! HEEEELLLPPP! ELLLIIII, HEEEELLLP MEEE!"

_Elias, who was with Eret, suddenly stood up upon hearing his little sister's screams. _"That was Zen! Hold on, baby sister! I'm coming!" _the then 7-year-old boy shouted and bolted in the direction of Zenna's screams while the aftershock was still happening! _"Elias, wait!"_ Eret yelled in alarm, standing up and running after him along with the rest of the team. By the time the aftershock died down, Eret and the other boys had caught up with Elias. The little Fiersome boy was worriedly looking down over a cliff edge. Eret looked down as well only to get the biggest scare of his life._

_Zenna was stuck on a small outcropping of rock, shaking in fear and pressed up against the rock!_

"Zenna! Oh gods, are you hurt?!" _Eret yelled in alarm. The little 6-year-old girl remained paralyzed with fear, unable to even shake her head. _"I think her acrophobia's gotten the best of her…I tried to calm her down but she's not listening…" _Elias said worriedly. _"Her acro-what?" _one of the younger trainees asked in confusion. _"Acrophobia, it's the irrational fear of heights." _Elias stated._

"Really, Eli? You need to bring that issue up right now?" _Zenna's terrified voice squeaked out. Eret was a bit surprised, to say the least, to learn that Zenna was afraid of heights. But he quickly huddled the boys together to devise a plan._

_Five minutes later, he was going down the cliff while the Elias and the other trainees held on tightly to the rope they had brought with them. Elias had volunteered to go down and rescue his sister, but Eret and the rest of the team decided against it. Considering the fact that another aftershock could occur and cause Zenna to freak out and her older brother might not be able to keep her calm, Eret was automatically chosen given that he was the strongest among all the trainees. Now, he was carefully going down with the rope tied around his waist. _"Keep it steady, lads!" _he instructed the boys. _"You got it, Eret! Just please save her!" _Elias shouted back to him._

_Once his feet touched the ground, Eret cautiously made his way over to Zenna. The little Fiersome girl was shaking like a leaf, but slightly calmed down when Eret approached her._

"Hey, Zen…It's okay, I'm here…" _the 11-year-old boy said reassuringly. But no sooner had he said this, another aftershock hit the area! Zenna screamed in terror as the outcropping she and Eret were standing on began to destabilize and crumble! Quickly, Eret grabbed Zenna with one arm and held onto the rope with the other. In just mere seconds, the two of them were now dangling over the cliff and about a hundred or so feet above the ground!_

"Eret! Zenna! Are you two okay?!" _Elias yelled as he and the boys hung onto the rope while the aftershock kept shaking the ground. At that point, Zenna began to hyperventilate like crazy but Eret tightened his grip around her as small bits of rock rained down on them._

"It's so high up here…Holy Shields, we're gonna die…We're gonna die…we're gonna die…we are going to die…" _Zenna whimpered clinging onto Eret while looking down, her acrophobia getting worse. _"No, Zenna. We're not going to die. Don't look down…just look at me, okay? Zen, just look at me…" _Eret told her firmly. Zenna looked up and did her best to focus on Eret's face. _"We're going to be okay. I'm not gonna let you go, I promise. And when we get back up to your brother and the others, I can help you get rid of your fear of heights." _The boy reassured her. Zenna took a deep breath and, thankfully, stopped hyperventilating. _"You'll really help me get over my fear?" _she asked timidly. Eret nodded and gently kissed her forehead. _"I will, I promise." _He swore._

"Hang on, you two! We're gonna pull you up! Okay, guys! Heave!"

_The aftershock had passed and, now, Elias and the other Wolf Pack Army trainees began to pull the rope up. Zenna then looked up at the sky, instead of looking down. Upon seeing the endless blue and white clouds up above, the young Fiersome girl calmed down. Then, looking at Eret, Zenna managed to crack a smile._

_Eret smiled back at her. _"You won't let me go, will you?" _Zenna asked him. Eret shook his head and kept a strong hold on her. _"Never. I'm not gonna let you go, Zenna. Promise." _He swore, just as they were finally pulled up to safety…_

**(End of Dream)**

Zenna gently placed a hand on Eret's pale cheek and, at that moment, her boyfriend's eyes weakly opened. "Hey…" Zenna whispered to Eret who managed to crack a smile. "Hey, Zen…Funny…I was just dreaming about you earlier…" he said weakly. Zenna cocked her head curiously at him. "Really? What was your dream about?" she asked softly. Eret blinked his eyes a few times to get his slightly blurred vision to refocus. "It was…that time when I saved you from that cliff…You know…during the earthquake?" he mumbled. Zenna instantly remembered that scary experience and blushed a bit. "Yeah, I remember…That was the day you found out that I was terrified of heights…But then, after that, you helped me get over it…and we climbed to the very top of the Sky Giant together…Remember that?" she said gently. Eret hoarsely chuckled. "Yeah…I remember…" he whispered.

Then he noticed that his girlfriend had a satchel with her, which meant that…

"Zen…are you going somewhere…?" Eret asked weakly, trying to sit up in bed but to no avail. Zenna gently adjusted the covers around him to keep him warm. "I'm just gonna go get the medicine for you, Eret. Don't worry." She said soothingly.

Sick as he was, Eret couldn't help but feel worried about her.

"You'll come back, right?" he asked Zenna, his expression matching that of a scared child's. Zenna felt tears well up in her eye as Eret gazed at her as if he was never going to see her again. She wanted to save Eret…but she didn't want to leave him either…

Finally, she managed to steel her nerves. "Of course I will, Eret. Until then, you just get some rest." Zenna said, lovingly brushing her hand against Eret's cheek. But when she turned to leave, Eret managed to grab her hand and gently squeezed it making her look back at him.

"…Promise…?" Eret whispered, already feeling exhausted. Zenna managed a smile and gently kissed him on the forehead. "I'll be right here when you wake up. I promise." She whispered. A bit comforted by this, Eret nodded. "You just get some sleep, Eret…" Zenna told him soothingly. "Mmmm…'Kay…" the former dragon trapper mumbled, already half-asleep. With a small smile, Zenna turned and began to leave.

"_I love you forever, Zenna…_"

Those words made Zenna freeze in her tracks. She glanced back at Eret only to see him already asleep…

"_Right back at you…_" Zenna whispered, not feeling comfortable with saying the exact same words. In all honesty, the whole '_I love you forever_' phrase was more of Eret's thing and she didn't really see herself saying those words to him either…

But Zenna also felt insurmountable guilt clawing at her. She knew that the chances of her being back in time for Eret to wake up and see her at his bedside were practically zero, considering the two-day journey she and Stryka would have to embark, one single day to get the Frost Ivy in Dragater, and another two days to make it back to Berk with the cure.

Her promise to Eret was an empty one…But she'd rather make that promise than lose him…

Quietly thanking Gothi, Zenna went outside and mounted Stryka.

"Okay, girl…I don't wanna push you too hard…but you need to fly as fast as your wings can allow you. We _need _to get to Dragater _fast_." She instructed her loyal one-eyed dragoness. Stryka nodded and spread her wings before taking off, she and her Rider soon leaving the isle of Berk to fade into the winter fog…

**I apologize if this chapter is rather lame-ish. But feel free to read and review, as those two things make me happy and help me write better.**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	8. Chapter 8

**Only one more weekend to enjoy before school restarts so I decided to update this story for all of you. I apologize if it's a little bit short and somewhat lame-ish.**

**Note: I do NOT own HTTYD and HTTYD2. All rights go to DreamWorks Animation, Dean DeBlois and Cressida Cowell.**

**Chapter Eight**

The first day of the journey seemed to have been blessed by the gods. No blizzards, strong winds to hinder their flight and no attacks from any hostile people as they flew over islets. In fact, Zenna and Stryka had managed to get halfway of their route covered in a quarter of the day! Provided that Stryka was practically flying at her top speed and the conditions were perfect for flying, Zenna checked the map and found out that with their current speed, they'll reach Dragater by nightfall.

Spotting a deserted islet, Zenna got Stryka to land so she can rest. Stryka purred and curled up to enjoy a well-deserved power nap while Zenna rechecked the map.

"Okay…we're about halfway there…we reach Dragater by tonight…then that means we get an extra day to find Frost Ivy…if we find it tomorrow…then we can go back to Berk with a day to spare…" the one-eyed Dragon Doctor mumbled, folding up the map.

Walking over to Stryka, Zenna gently shook her one-eyed best dragon friend awake. Stryka yawned, opening her one green eye, and stretched. The nap was short, but it was just what she needed to feel refreshed. Zenna gratefully fed Stryka some of her salmon before they took off into the skies once again.

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><p>Meanwhile, back on Berk, Hiccup, Astrid and the gang took turns watching over Eret. Thankfully the former dragon trapper's fever hadn't increased and he was still asleep. Zenna had left the day before and, so far, Eret was still sleeping. Gothi and Astrid made sure that he was comfortable and had him drink water every now and then so he wouldn't get dehydrated. By the afternoon though, they began to worry. Eret was still sleeping and had practically slept for about 24 hours already!<p>

"Is that normal or is that bad that he's still asleep?" Fishlegs asked apprehensively. "When you're sick, the best way to get rid of it is to sleep it off." Snotlout shrugged. "And that actually works?" Tuffnut asked, confused. "Most of the time, it does. Remember Hiccup after the battle with the Red Death?" Astrid reminded the male Thorston.

"He looks pretty cute sleeping…" Ruffnut remarked, smiling a bit as she watched Eret sleep. Hiccup slightly smirked at her remark. "Careful, Ruff. Zenna might hear you." He teased. At the sound of his girlfriend's name, Eret slightly stirred and smiled in his sleep. The others couldn't help but smile as well. Just mention Zenna and it was enough to make Eret happy…

They just hoped that she would make it back in time…

**(Dream Starts)**

"I don't want to this anymore!" _Zenna screamed, looking down at Eret who was looking up at her with a semi-irritated expression. They'd been climbing the Sky Giant, the tallest tree growing in the South, for almost a month now and they were halfway to the top. But now that she could see that she was so high up now, Zenna was more than ready to go down and throw in the towel._

_But Eret was firm in the decision he and Zenna had made together when they set out to get rid of Zenna's acrophobia: Climb to the very top of the Sky Giant within two months._

_Zenna screamed a little as a branch underneath her feet suddenly broke and fell down the tree. _"Zenna, you need to remember that you have to be careful where you put your hands and feet on!" _Eret reminded her. _"Eret, I _really _don't think I can do this!" _Zenna yelled at him. Eret sighed in frustration and folded his arms across his chest. _"That's quitter's talk! At least make it to the next branch over there!" _he shouted back. Letting out a small whine of protest, Zenna reached up and hoisted herself up to the next branch and tied a strip of cloth around it to mark her progress. In the past month, she and Eret had tied several cloth strips, each a different color, around several branches to mark how far Zenna had climbed up._

"Okay, Zen, that's enough. You can come down." _Eret told Zenna, who decided that it was time for some payback. _"I can't. I'm tired. You come up and fetch me!" _Zenna protested. Eret rolled his eyes at the young Fiersome's stubbornness and proceeded to climb up as well. _"Lady Fiersome, your chariot awaits." _He said jokingly as he reached Zenna and let her ride piggyback on him and carefully climbed down the tree._

_Once they were down, Eret waited for Zenna to get down from his back. But Zenna smiled cheekily and shook her head. _"What am I, a pack mule?" _Eret pretended to complain. _"You're not a pack mule…You're more of a wolf. An alpha wolf, to be exact." _Zenna said thoughtfully and giggled when Eret let out a wolf howl. So in the end, she piggybacked on Eret the whole way back to their village._

"You're almost to the top, Zen. You can't give up now." _Eret told Zenna who frowned. _"But, Eret, I don't think I can climb to the top on my own…"_ she said timidly. _"Well you don't need to worry, because, from now on, I'm climbing with you. That way if one of us gets into a tight spot, we can help each other." _Eret reassured her. Zenna was thoughtful for a minute._

"You're not gonna give up until we reach the top, aren't you?" _she asked him. Eret smiled. _"I'm not giving up on _you_. As long as I don't give up on you, then you better not give up on yourself either." _He told her. Zenna shrugged. _"I'll try." _She replied. _"There's no try, only do! Aaaawooo!" _Eret howled and picked up the pace, Zenna squealing with delight and tightly clinging onto him as they neared the village…_

**(Dream Ends)**

Hiccup, Astrid and the gang had just left to do a routine patrol with their dragons when Eret woke up. Slightly dazed and still lethargic from his long nap, Eret looked around and tried to get up but was still too weak. But then, he noticed something that instantly made him worry.

Zenna wasn't right there…like she promised.

"Zenna…Zenna…" Eret called out weakly, getting Gothi's attention. The elder walked over to Eret with a worried look on her face. At this point, Eret was now frantically looking around for the one-eyed Dragon Doctor and beginning to panic. When he saw Gothi, Eret immediately asked her.

"_Gothi, where's Zenna?_"

**Uh-oh…Eret's awake and Zenna still hasn't come back…what happens now?**

**You'll know in a few more days! Until next time, fellow writers and readers!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	9. Chapter 9

**I apologize if this chapter seems really lame…I'll be honest, it's kind of hard to write now because it's the last quarter in school and I have to mostly focus on my studies. Sorry!**

**Note: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

Hiccup and Astrid both decided to check on Eret together that afternoon while the other Dragon Riders went on a patrol. But when they got to Gothi's hut, they heard a certain sick ex-dragon trapper's anguished screams.

"I want to see Zenna! Where is she?! She promised! She promised! Where is she?!"

Skullcrusher, who had maintained a silent watch over his Rider ever since they first arrived to the healer's hut, moaned mournfully at Eret's distress. As Toothless and Stormfly comfortingly draped their wings over their Rumblehorn friend, Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other worriedly.

"Four days left…" Astrid said quietly. "She'll make it back, Astrid." Hiccup reassured her as they went inside to find Eret struggling to get out of bed with Gothi holding him down. For a little old woman, Gothi was strong enough to keep Eret pinned down with her staff. Eret was crying and screaming at the same time, calling out to Zenna only to receive no reply from his beloved childhood sweetheart. He was sick and scared and wanted nothing more than Zenna by his side.

But where was she…?

Finally Eret tired himself out and lied limply on the bed. Hiccup and Astrid went to his side and tried to soothe him. "Eret, Zen's not here. She just went to get the medicine for you…so you can get better." Astrid said softly. "But when will she return?" Eret sobbed. "She'll come back in four days, Eret. Even less than four, I'm sure. You just need to rest. Zenna will come back and heal you, Eret." Hiccup reassured him. But the Chief and Astrid couldn't deny the fact that they were both worried about Eret and were seriously praying to all the gods in Valhalla that their one-eyed friend will return in time.

Eret calmed down a little but still wept, tears running down his face even as he began to feel the darkness overcoming him.

"But Zenna promised she'd be right here when I woke up…She promised me that…_She promised_…" he whispered brokenly before his eyes closed and he lost consciousness. Gothi put a hand to his brow and frowned. Hiccup volunteered to go get more ice blocks to bring Eret's fever down while Astrid kept watch.

Sighing, Astrid took a chair and sat beside Eret's bed. "Don't give up, Eret. You're strong, you'll make it…Just hang in there." She whispered to the former dragon trapper. Eret shifted uncomfortably in his sleep, slightly coughing and wheezing as he struggled to breathe. Astrid carefully took Eret's hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.

"Just hang in there, Eret…Zenna's coming…" she whispered soothingly, hoping that Zenna would come back with the medicine soon…

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><p>Meanwhile, later that dusk, Zenna and Stryka had flown straight into a snowstorm – the worst possible thing to happen for them and their journey.<p>

"Come on, girl, you can do it…We're almost there! I can feel it!" Zenna shouted amidst the howling wind. Stryka growled and determinedly flew on, ignoring the stinging icy winds and the sheer cold.

"NO SCORCHING SUN NOR FREEZING COLD WILL STOP ME ON MY JOURNEY!" Zenna yelled at the top of her lungs in defiance. Suddenly she saw a looming shape in front of her and Stryka. Squinting, Zenna realized that they were headed straight for a mountain!

"Stryka, veer hard left! Left!" Zenna shrieked. Frantic, Stryka swerved hard to the left. But then the strength of the snowstorm caused the duo to narrowly miss hitting the mountain but get tossed around in the wind! Stryka let out a distressed roar that echoed out as she and Zenna landed hard in a pile of snow on the mountainside.

Zenna groaned as she shook the snow off of her. "_Wer awre we?_" Stryka asked. "I don't know, girl…I can only hope that we're in Dragater…" Zenna shrugged. The snowstorm was raging violently now, and the duo weren't sure what was ahead for they couldn't see anything through the vast whiteness. "It's too dangerous for us to fly in this storm, girl…We need to find shelter." Zenna told Stryka, trying hard not to shiver. Stryka smiled toothlessly. "_Iw'm ooonn iwt…_" she crooned and quickly dug a snow cave out big enough for her and Zenna to fit in.

Zenna smiled at Stryka's genius. "We better hunker down until the storm passes." She said and she and her loyal one-eyed dragoness went inside their little hovel of snow. Stryka used her wings to sprinkle some snow over herself to serve as camoflauge as Zenna settled on the ground, leaning against her warm belly.

"Will you be okay in this cold, girl?" she asked Stryka. "_Drraagonss hwave an iwnnwerr firree…Cwold doess nwot bother usss…_" Stryka reassured her. Zenna nodded and sighed, clutching her lucky pendant close to her chest. She didn't know how long the snowstorm would last and she had been hoping she and Stryka wouldn't encounter any problems…

The only thing they could do now was wait for the storm to pass…

"We…we should probably get some sleep, Stryka…We need to keep our strength up for the search." Zenna advised Stryka. "_Owkway…Gwud nwight, Zwen…_" Stryka yawned and curled up around Zenna. The one-eyed Dragon Doctor settled into Stryka's wings, her makeshift blanket, and closed her eye. Soon, she was fast asleep…and dreaming of Eret…

Little did Zenna know…was that Eret was dreaming of her as well…

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><p><strong>Read and review whenever and whatever you want.<strong>

**-GuardianDragon98**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! I am so sorry that I haven't updated in such a long while. My Riders and Defenders of Berk story shall be updated next weekend. I am sincerely sorry for having not written anything for the past few weeks. School and whatnot.**

**Also, I've been celebrating with my fellow Filipinos because of Pope Francis' arrival here in the Philippines. Tomorrow, he departs for Rome. Let us all pray for his safe return to the Vatican.**

**Anyways, until Riders and Defenders of Berk is updated, I hope this somewhat satisfies your craving for Thin Ice.**

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><p><strong>Note: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING<strong>

**Chapter 10**

**(Zenna's Dream)**

'_Zenna could hardly believe it...Had she and Eret really…?_

"Yes! We did it, Zen! We made it! We made it!" _Eret's excited yell snapped Zenna out of her daze and she looked at the spectacular view before her. The whole South seemed to be completely spread out all around them down below. Zenna smiled widely, now sure that she and Eret had really reached the very tippy-top of the Sky Giant. She and Eret were sitting on a branch, admiring the wonderful view._

"We made it to the very top…" _Zenna breathed out, before looking at Eret and smiled. _"And I finally got over my fear of heights! My acrophobia has been conquered!" _she said victoriously, throwing her arms out only to nearly fall off! Luckily Eret steadied her before she took a tumble. _"I am so proud of you…" _Eret whispered as they watched the birds soar through the sky. Zenna sighed happily and, then, leaned against Eret. The boy looked at her in surprise before smiling and gently draped his arm over her. _"See what you've been missing?" _he asked jokingly, gesturing to the picturesque view from their amazing vantage point. _"I never knew that you could see so much from high above the ground…" _Zenna admitted. She was silent for a few minutes before saying, _"Thanks for doing this with me, Eret…I couldn't have done it without you…"

_Eret smiled and gently kissed the top of her head. _"As long as you need anything, Zenna, I'm right here…" _the young lad promised. Zenna smiled as they watched the sun set over the horizon…_

**(Zenna's Dream Ends)**

"_Zwenna! Wake up! WAKE UP!_"

Stryka's frantic roar brought Zenna out of her slumber. Still half-asleep, the one-eyed Dragon Doctor found Stryka frantically digging herself out of their snow cave. "Stryka, what is it?" Zenna yawned. Suddenly a rumbling sound got her attention. Following Stryka out of their shelter, Zenna's one violet eye widened in horror as she saw what seemed like a wall of snow barreling towards her and Stryka!

"AVALANCHE!" Zenna screamed, mounting Stryka. Quickly the two of them hightailed it out of the danger zone and up into the skies. Stryka heaved a huge sigh of relief as they watched the avalanche from up above, glad that they hadn't been buried alive in there. "Okay, snowstorm and an avalanche…we've survived those, now if we can just avoid running into…" Zenna managed to say before, all of a sudden, a net came launching out of nowhere!

'_Dragon Eaters…_' Zenna managed to think before she and Stryka were ensnared and they fell back down to earth…

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><p>Back on Berk, Eret had woken up again. And Zenna still wasn't by his side. Rather, Astrid and Hiccup were the ones there. "Hey…you were out for almost an entire day…" Astrid said softly. Eret simply scowled and turned away from her and Hiccup. "Eret, we're sorry…Zenna didn't want to go either, but she had no choice…" Hiccup sighed. Eret was quiet for a bit before he sighed heavily. "I'm not mad at you two. It's just…why would she make such an empty promise to me…?" he said quietly. "She didn't want you to worry, Eret. That's why." Astrid told him gently. Eret thought about that for a couple of minutes…before his stomach suddenly decided to give him pain.<p>

"I got your back, man." Hiccup said, handing Eret a bucket. Astrid grimaced as Eret sat up on his bed, throwing up the meager contents of his stomach into the bucket. "I hate this…I freaking hate this…" Eret groaned once he had finished puking whatever that could be puked up. "Everyone hates getting sick…And I guess pain demands to be felt." Hiccup told him, leaving to clean the bucket out. Astrid handed Eret some water to rinse his mouth. "He's right you know…Pain _does _demand to be felt, whether physical or emotional." She told Eret. The former dragon trapper lied back down and closed his eyes. "I'm feeling a lot of those right now…" he mumbled. "Zenna will come back with the medicine, Eret. Don't worry." Astrid reassured him.

Eret sighed, "I know she'll come back in time…before I die." Just as Hiccup came back. The former dragon trapper's words caused Hiccup to drop the empty bucket to the floor and Astrid to look at Eret in confusion. Opening his eyes, Eret saw the couple's stunned faces. "I'm dying from pneumonia, aren't I?" he asked them.

Hiccup and Astrid could only gape at Eret, shocked and speechless. How in Valhalla did he know?!

"You two okay?" Eret slightly chuckled before coughing. "Eret…h-how did you know? We…we never told you…" Astrid asked him in a strained voice. "I may be sick, Astrid, but I'm not stupid. I know that I have pneumonia. I know that it's bad and I know that I'm dying. You guys didn't have to keep quiet about it around me." Eret told her. "But how did you _know_?" Hiccup asked this time.

Eret's face suddenly turned solemn and he sadly looked away from them both. "Eret…" Hiccup and Astrid said worriedly.

Eret let out another sigh. He had to at least tell someone…

"My mother died of pneumonia when I was three…" he confessed. "Y-your mother?" Hiccup asked, surprised. "She got sick one winter…Da and I tried everything but…she never made it to spring…" Eret said quietly. Hiccup and Astrid kept silent before Gothi arrived to check on Eret.

"Your fever's gone up a little, but it's not too alarming…But she says that you might be feeling nauseous for a couple of hours…" Hiccup translated the runes Gothi had scrawled in the dirt to Eret. The former dragon trapper nodded, before clutching his stomach and turning pale. "Oh, not again…" Astrid sighed, getting the bucket this time. "So…freaking…hate this…!" Eret groaned as his stomach's contents were once again upchucked.

"Three more days…Gods, I hope Zenna's already found the cure…" Hiccup murmured worriedly while Eret threw up, Astrid supporting him.

Unbeknownst to Hiccup, Astrid and Eret, Zenna and Stryka were in a lot of trouble. They were at Dragater already, alright. But now…they had been captured by the Dragon Eaters…

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><p><strong>Poor Eret…But it looks like he's not worried about dying because he knows that Zenna will make it back in time. He never gives up on her ;)<strong>

**But Zenna and Stryka…what will they do now? Three days left to find the cure. Will they find the Frost Ivy in time?**

**Only time will tell…and time is running out.**

**Read and review, those two things make me happy!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm sorry if this chapter is short. I still have a ton of things to do before I graduate. But I hope this update will satisfy your craving until I update Riders and Defenders of Berk this weekend. Enjoy!**

**Note: I do NOT own HTTYD and all rights go to their respective owners.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

The first thing Zenna was aware of when she came to was that she was tied up and in a cell. A worried warble caught her attention and she looked to her left to find Stryka trussed up like a wild turkey! "Stryka! Oh gods, are you okay?!" Zenna asked worriedly. Stryka shook her head and tried to wriggle out of the gigantic sack she was in but to no avail.

That's when a Dragon Eater came into the room where Zenna and her one-eyed Night Fury were. Zenna felt a shiver run down her spine as she saw that the Dragon Eater's teeth had been filed to look like fangs. "Well, well, well…my people and I must thank you for bringing us a feast…" the Dragon Eater said in mock thanks as he approached Zenna. "Touch me and my draconian sister plasma blasts you to oblivion." Zenna said coldly. Stryka growled, readying her plasma blast. The Dragon Eater chuckled darkly. "Now, now…there's no need for our honored guest to fuss. I, _Canis_, the Head of the Dragon Eaters would like to welcome you to Dragater. We will have a feast in your honor, provider…And your '_draconian sister_'…shall make a fine main course." He snickered. Stryka snarled, wanting nothing more than to rip the scoundrel's head off before he could even think of roasting her on a spit.

"If you touch one scale on Stryka's head, I am going to kill you!" Zenna shouted angrily. Canis glared at the one-eyed Fiersome lady. "Try to get out of that first." He sneered as more Dragon Eaters came inside. Stryka roared in outrage as they dragged her, still in the sack, out of the room! "No! LET HER GO! STRYKAAAA!" Zenna screamed as Canis locked the cell door behind him.

"Dammit! Gods Dammit!" Zenna exclaimed, struggling against her bonds. That's when she noticed a window. All of a sudden, the window was smashed open and a knife was thrown in and landed near Zenna's feet.

"Quickly, lass! Cut the ropes!" a man's voice called out from outside. Not wanting to waste any time, even though she had no idea who was helping her, Zenna managed to grab the knife with her boots and used it to cut herself free. Running to the window, Zenna saw a man with dark red hair and a scruffy beard holding a set of keys. "Take these. Get out of there. And, hurry! My family will try to get your dragon out." The man told her hurriedly. Zenna narrowed her eye suspiciously at the man. Unlike Canis, who dressed like a wild cannibal, this man looked almost like a Berkian.

The man must have sensed her distrust for he sighed. "Trust me, lass. If you want to get your dragon back, you have to trust me." He told her seriously. Realizing that time was running out, Zenna followed the man's instructions and unlocked her cell door. "I'll meet you in the feast hall! Now, hurry!" the man called after Zenna as she ran out of her cell.

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><p>Back on Berk, Eret had lost count on how many times he shut his eyes…only to get his ears assaulted by Fishlegs, Snotlout and the Twins (<em>who took over watching over him a couple of hours after breakfast since Hiccup and Astrid had to do some important stuff in the village<em>) yelling at him to stay awake.

Odin's axe, he just really wanted to sleep…

"Eret, don't go into the light!" Tuffnut shouted.

Finally, Eret lost his patience.

"For the love of Thor, guys, would you all _please _Let. Me. Sleep! I am not going to instantly die from sleeping, but I probably _will _die from over-exhaustion if all of you don't SHUT IT and leave me alone in PEACE AND QUIET!" the former dragon trapper exclaimed hoarsely before coughing again.

Seeing his Rider's discomfort, Skullcrusher decided to take charge. Eret coughed himself out and then saw his Rumblehorn roughly push the four troublesome Vikings out, ignoring their protests.

"Thank you, Skullcrusher…" Eret sighed out gratefully and closed his eyes to take a well-deserved nap…only to get sucker-punched by a sudden wave of pain. Clenching the sheets in his fists, Eret willed himself not to cry out in pain. He was already bed-ridden. He didn't want others to think that he could get any weaker!

'_Don't think about it…It just makes the pain worse…_' Eret thought miserably as he drifted in and out of consciousness. Suddenly he remembered something his father always told him whenever he got sick or was having a bad day.

'_**If things get too rough, think of something happy. Once you get your mind off the bad and think of something that makes you smile, everything will be alright…'**_

Eret figured that now would be a really good time to follow his dad's advice and began to recall all of the happy times in his life. Growing up in the South, having fun sailing with his dad, the mother he barely remembered, his friends, Dragon Racing, training with Skullcrusher, going on all sorts of adventures with the Dragon Riders…

But most of all…Zenna.

Every moment they had together beginning from the day they first met, playing with the wolves in the forest, climbing to the very top of the Sky Giant, their first kiss the day they had to say goodbye to each other, reuniting once more and every single moment after the battle with Drago…Every date, flight and kiss…

Zenna's face kept appearing in Eret's mind. He could hear her laugh, which was the sweetest music to his ears and could see her lovely smile and the way her eye would light up whenever she had an '_Aha!_' moment. He could also hear her sweet voice saying the words "_I love you._" Followed by every time they had kissed…it all made Eret smile and feel a whole lot better.

'_Thanks, Da…_' Eret thought as he fell into a more peaceful sleep than he had had in a long while.

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><p><strong>Read and review. Those two things make me very happy :D<strong>

**-GuardianDragon98**


	12. Chapter 12

**Warning: May cause readers to start worrying.**

**Note: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING.**

**Chapter 12**

Zenna found herself running through the Dragon Eaters' village, which mostly composed of huts made from mud bricks and had roofs made of thatch. It was eerily quiet as the young Dragon Doctor wandered about in the dark. That's when she realized that it was nighttime. Zenna's heart seized with panic as she counted how many days she had left to find the Frost Ivy.

'_Only three days left…If I don't find it tomorrow, I won't be able to make the two-day journey back to Berk…_' she thought grimly. Then she heard shouts and wild howls coming from a large structure in the very center of the village.

"The feast hall…" Zenna quietly murmured and sprinted towards the building.

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><p>Stryka growled as a bunch of Dragon Eaters tied her to a spit over a bed of hot coals. Canis grinned at all the Dragon Eaters present. "Friends! Brothers and sisters! Tonight, we dine like kings! We have feasted on Monstrous Nightmares, on Deadly Nadders, Gronckles and Hideous Zipplebacks. But tonight, we shall taste Night Fury flesh! The rarest delicacy of them all!" he announced grandly. All Dragon Eaters howled with excitement and hungrily eyed Stryka, licking their lips and showing their fanged teeth.<p>

'_Barbarians, savages, cannibals, dragon-eating cannibals! Oh, when I get out of here, I'll turn you Dragon Eaters into roasted humans!_' Stryka thought menacingly as she was rotated on the spit. But suddenly, a small spherical object came flying out of nowhere and landed on the floor with a '_thunk!_'

Before anyone could react, the object exploded, smoke coming out of it and spreading everywhere! "Who dares to interrupt our feast?! Who?!" Canis growled in outrage as he and his people tried to look through the smoke. Stryka then felt someone's hands gently stroking her muzzle and the ropes binding her were severed.

"Come on, dragon. We're getting you out of here." A child's voice said. Stryka wondered if this child was friend or foe but, after a minute to decide, willingly went along with the child. Meanwhile, Zenna had managed to slip inside the feast hall unnoticed only to get held back by a young woman with light brown hair in a braid. "Not yet, lass…Wait…" the woman said just as the feast hall was covered in smoke. Zenna, unsure on whether to trust the woman or not, stayed quiet as the smoke spread.

"What's with all the smoke?" she whisper-asked the woman. "Smoke bomb. Now don't worry, my son and husband have already freed your dragon. Look, here they come." The woman reassured her. And, true enough, the man who had helped Zenna earlier and a small child with brown hair appeared out of the haze with Stryka!

"Stryka! I was so worried, girl! Are you hurt?" Zenna exclaimed in relief, hugging her loyal dragoness. Stryka warbled softly and gently licked her Rider's cheek. "She's alright, miss." The boy said nicely. "We're not out of the woods yet. We have to get out of here now!" the man yelled and hurriedly led Zenna, Stryka and his wife and son out of the feast hall just as the smoke cleared.

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><p>They never should have let their guard down. But seeing Eret doing relatively well yesterday and almost the entire day earlier made Hiccup and the gang believe that he wouldn't get worse.<p>

Zenna's parents and El had decided to visit Eret that night. While Edgar and Henna chatted with the Chief, the other Dragon Riders and Gothi, little El played with Eret and Skullcrusher. "Rawr! Rawr!" El roared, waving his stuffed Night Fury at Skullcrusher. Eret laughed as his tough-as-nails Rumblehorn pretended to be scared of the stuffed dragon. Skullcrusher then let out a moan and flopped on his side, playing dead. "And Eret the Night Fury defeats the fearsome Skullcrusher!" Eret announced. Little El giggled and clapped his little hands in delight.

Eret laughed…and then started coughing. But this time, when he managed to stop, he couldn't breathe. It felt like his lungs had completely stopped working. Eret could feel his heart thudding in his ribcage as he tried to inhale and exhale, only to get nothing!

He couldn't breathe…_he couldn't breathe!_

"Mama! Dada! _Eret!_" Little El shrieked fearfully as the former dragon trapper began to flail about in bed, face turning a pale, pale blue as he frantically gasped for air. El's parents quickly took El into their arms while Hiccup and the other Dragon Riders could only watch as Gothi and Valka tended to Eret. By now, Eret was beginning to go limp due to lack of oxygen. Quickly Gothi made him swallow a bowl of special tea. No sooner had Eret swallowed it, he hacked and coughed until his lungs cleared. El whimpered and buried his face in his mother's apron, not liking seeing his Uncle Eret so sick. "Careful now, Eret…Breathe slowly…Slowly…" Valka said soothingly as she gently rubbed Eret's back as he wheezed. Eret took a shaky breath and slowly relaxed. Hiccup, Astrid and the gang soon realized that they'd been holding their breaths anxiously the whole time and simultaneously breathed out sighs of relief.

Eret slowly inhaled and exhaled, his throat now feeling raw and sore from all the coughing he had done earlier. Letting out a small moan, he sank back into the covers completely drained.

"That…was…terrifying…" he whispered weakly. "No kidding…" Hiccup murmured, relieved that it was over. "You okay, Eret?" Tuffnut asked. Everyone resisted the urge to roll their eyes at the male Thorston. "Bro, I love you…but that has to be the stupidest question you could ever ask right now…" Ruffnut sighed, hopelessly shaking her head.

"Uuunnhhh…" Eret moaned, squeezing his eyes shut as his head throbbed, and shivered. Valka gently placed the back of her hand on his forehead and frowned. "His fever's gone up…We need to let him rest." She told the others softly. Hiccup and the others nodded and silently left. Little El began to cry when his parents began to leave with him. "Noooooo! Me wanwa stway wid Eret!" the little toddler howled, flailing his tiny arms and legs. "I'm sorry, sweetie…But we need to leave Uncle Eret alone so he can rest…" Henna said softly, trying to calm her son down. "Wanwa stway wid Uncka Eret!" El wailed. "Elias II Stoick Fiersome, I am sorry but you cannot." Edgar sighed heavily.

El wailed in despair. He didn't want to leave! Uncle Eret was sick and needed him!

"Go home, El…I'll be okay…" Eret mumbled, feebly opening his eyes and gave the little boy a weak smile. El whimpered, but nodded. Then he waved his stuffed Night Fury. Gothi figured out what the baby wanted and gently took the toy dragon from El and placed it near Eret's bed. "Eret, pwotwect Uncka Eret." El sniffled, pointing a finger to his toy dragon and then to the sick former dragon trapper in bed.

"Thanks, El…" Eret said softly as the child left with his parents. Glancing at the stuffed Night Fury near his bed, Eret smiled a bit. Then he had another coughing fit. What was alarming about this one was that he coughed up a bit of blood!

Eret coughed and coughed and coughed until he couldn't cough anymore and collapsed back against the bed. Gothi quickly gave him some water that somewhat helped soothe his throat.

But the water didn't ease Eret's anxiety. Zenna still wasn't here and, now, he was beginning to fear for his life…

'_I have to stay strong…Just until Zenna returns…Just until Zenna returns…Just…until…Zenna…returns…_' Eret thought as he drifted off into a fitful slumber. Watching the ex-dragon trapper sleep, Gothi worriedly sighed and drew five lines in the dirt. Those five dirt lines symbolized the five days the young man had left to live. Gothi felt a seed of dread grow in her stomach as she erased two of the lines.

The elder could only hope that Zenna had already reached Dragater Island and would be able to find the Frost Ivy tomorrow.

Time was running out for poor Eret, Son of Eret…

**Read and review whenever and whatever you want ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi everyone! Twinsanity for Riders and Defenders of Berk is coming along. Should be ready for posting next weekend. In the meantime, I hope this update for Thin Ice will suffice (hey, that rhymes!) for the time being.**

**Read and review whenever and whatever you want.**

**Note: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING**

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><p><strong>Chapter 13<strong>

Zenna and Stryka kept their mouths shut as they followed the family into the woods. The man, woman and child were constantly looking over their shoulders as they ran through the greenery. Just in case, Zenna kept one hand on the hilt of Inferno and the other on one of her battle sticks. But when they reached a lone cottage, and a young man and woman about Zenna's age and hurriedly ushered them inside, Zenna chose to trust her and Stryka's rescuers.

"Canis will be sending search parties out. We're sleeping with the lanterns blown out." The man instructed the other man. "Wow…a Night Fury…I never thought I'd see one close-up…" the small boy breathed out in awe. Stryka warbled and gently licked the boy's cheek, making him laugh. "I never thought I'd see one with one eye…What happened?" the other woman, who looked a lot like the brown haired woman but with light red hair asked Zenna. "She lost her eye when she took on a tyrannical dragon queen." The one-eyed Dragon Doctor replied.

"As amazing as your dragon is, miss…I have to say that you made a big mistake bringing her with you to Dragater." The young man, who had brown hair, told her. "_Daniel_, manners!" the woman who had helped Zenna and Stryka escape scolded him. "Sorry, Mum…" the young man, Daniel, said sheepishly.

The red-haired girl smiled warmly at Zenna. "I believe we haven't properly introduced ourselves. I'm _Anya_, this little man here is my younger brother, _Orland_, my other brother Daniel and my mother _Kirsten_." She said politely. Then the father came forward. "And I am _Tristan_. We are the Ironside Family. Pleasure to meet you, lass." He said kindly as he gently asked Orland to fetch some bread from the house's pantry.

"And what might your name be, my dear?" Kirsten asked politely. "Zenna Arrowhead Fiersome. This is my best dragon friend and draconian sister, Stryka." Zenna replied, stroking Stryka. Zenna's one-eyed Night Fury smiled toothlessly at the family. "Whoa…retractable teeth…" Daniel murmured in amazement. "Where are you from Zenna? What brings you and Stryka here to Dragater?" Tristan inquired curiously as Orland came back with the bread. "We're from Berk." Zenna replied.

At the mention of Berk, Tristan and his family looked at each other in amazement.

"_Berk_? You mean that island that is rumored to be home to Dragon Riders?" Daniel asked, eyes wide. "The very same." Zenna nodded. "Daddy, can we go to Berk? I wanna become a Dragon Rider!" Orland asked his father excitedly. "Orland, you know we can't leave until Canis and his people renounce their old ways." Anya reminded him gently. Orland frowned and crossed his arms. "But Anya, something tells me that Canis and the Dragon Eaters will _never _change! Why can't we just go?" he whined. "If we leave, how will the dragons fare? We're the only ones here who don't eat them _and _can keep them away from this place." Daniel told his younger brother seriously.

"_Ywou dwon't eawt dragons…?_" Stryka asked, startling Tristan and his family. "By Odin's beard, that dragon _spoke_!" Tristan exclaimed. "She's been teaching herself human speech." Zenna lightly shrugged. "You Berkians…Dragon Riders and now the dragons can speak human language…" Kirsten said, impressed. "_Thwank Ywou_…" Stryka said, feeling pleased with herself.

"To answer your dragon's question, no. We do not eat dragons. My family and I live through hunting and fishing around these parts. Canis and the others? They'd rather risk starving to skin and bones waiting for unsuspecting dragons to come by this island than try their luck in hunting for game in the woods." Tristan informed Zenna before looking at her seriously.

"And I will ask again, Zenna: What brings you and Stryka here to Dragater Island?" he asked suspiciously. Zenna was silent for a minute, deciding whether to trust the Ironsides or not. Then the fire in the hearth flickered and the firelight danced on her pendant. Remembering Eret, Zenna sighed. "We're on a very important mission. One of the villagers on Berk has fallen sick with pneumonia and he needs Frost Ivy to get better." She said at last. Kirsten nodded understandingly. "In winters as harsh as this, Frost Ivy is the best cure." She said softly.

"Berk's two days away from here. I need to find the Frost Ivy by tomorrow if Stryka and I are to get home in time…" Zenna sighed worriedly. "Is it serious, Miss Zenna?" Orland asked. "I'm afraid so…" Zenna said, clutching her pendant to her chest. "The poor soul…Don't worry, Zenna. We know a meadow in the forest where Frost Ivy grows wild." Anya reassured the young Dragon Doctor. Zenna perked up at Anya's words. "You do? Can you take me and Stryka there?" she asked hopefully.

"We can tomorrow. But tonight, you and Stryka must stay here. No doubt that Canis will be combing the island later with his warriors. So eat up and get ready for bed." Tristan advised. Nodding, Zenna split the bread Orland had given her with Stryka so they could both eat. Then, the Ironside family got ready for bed. Daniel, Orland and their father both blew out all the lanterns and candles in the house. Anya and Kirsten busied themselves preparing a cot for Zenna and a nest of blankets for Stryka in the family den.

'_Tomorrow is my one and only chance…I have to get the Frost Ivy for Eret…I just have to…_' Zenna thought as she lay down with Stryka and fell asleep, hoping for the best…

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><p><strong>Sorry if it's rather short. I'll admit, I'm kind of suffering writer's block…<strong>

**Now, a little background on the Ironside Family.**

**The Ironsides are a family composing of 5 members. They're from Dragater but, unlike Canis and the other Dragon Eaters, they don't eat dragons. They have a respect for dragons even if they don't particularly get very close to them. Rather, they all make sure to keep dragons away from Dragater Island so they won't be captured and turned into dinner for the Dragon Eaters. More information on how exactly they keep the dragons away from Dragater will be revealed in the next chapter.**

**In short, they're basically a Viking, and not Dragon Eater, family that have made it their mission to protect the dragons from the Dragon Eaters.**

**Now for some quick profiles on each member of the Ironside Family.**

**Tristan Ironside – Patriarch. Strong and a devoted father and husband. Serious and steadfast at all times but warm and approachable.**

**Kirsten Ironside – Matriarch. Warm and loving mother and wife but can hold her own in a fight. Smart and able to deceive any unsuspecting Dragon Eater when on a mission to rescue dragons.**

**Daniel Ironside – Eldest son. 21 years old. Somewhat reckless but dependable. Stealth master along with his sister, which makes him one of the best rescuers in the family since he can slip into Dragon Eater territory and free dragons before anyone else can see him.**

**Anya Ironside – Eldest daughter. 21 years old. A master of stealth like her brother. Always has a knife with her for self defense and for freeing dragons. Responsible and kindhearted, she makes sure to look out for her brothers at all times.**

**Orland Ironside – Youngest member of the family at 10 years old. He's not yet allowed to join in the missions but he is the one who invented the Smoke Bomb his family uses as escape cover. Clever and resourceful, he is a master tinkerer.**

**More about the Ironside Family shall be revealed in due time. Until then, stay awesome everybody ;)**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello guys :D**

**Announcement: I am putting "Riders and Defenders of Berk" on a temporary week-long hold so I can try finishing this. Don't worry, I'll restart writing my new update the week after and post my next update hopefully on the first week of March…provided that I'm not gonna get swamped by tests and homework due before graduation.**

**In the meantime, I hope this new chapter for Thin Ice will make it up to you all.**

**Note: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING**

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><p><strong>Chapter 14<strong>

For Skullcrusher, time didn't have any significance to him at the moment as he watched over Eret. The only thing the distressed Rumblehorn knew…was that his Rider wasn't getting any better. And fear gripped Skullcrusher's heart as the terrifying realization that he could very well lose his master again…

Skullcrusher let out a mournful whine and nuzzled his snout into Eret's pale, clammy hand. The former dragon trapper moaned and weakly turned his head to see Skullcrusher whimpering into his palm, the tears running down his dragon's scales.

"Hey…Skullcrusher…" Eret whispered hoarsely. Skullcrusher crooned and gently gave his Rider a lick to try and clean him. "Heh…yeah, I know…I could really use a bath…Thanks for reminding me…" his Rider chuckled weakly. Skullcrusher gave Eret a toothy grin. It was good to see that his Rider hadn't lost his sense of humor yet. Then Eret's face turned sad.

"I don't wanna die, buddy…I don't want to leave yet…I'm trying so hard to hold on but…" Eret managed to say before getting into another violent coughing fit. Skullcrusher let out a distressed rumble and helped Eret sit up. After he had pretty much hacked his lungs out, Eret slumped back against the covers. Skullcrusher began to whine, seeing that's Eret's eyes were barely open. Eret couldn't die! Not now!

Then, to the Rumblehorn's relief, Eret managed to open his eyes a little bit more and focused them on his dragon.

"I'm scared, Skullcrusher…But I'm not giving up just yet…Zenna will come back with the medicine for me and I'll get better…We'll be back to beating everyone in the Dragon Races in no time…Just you wait, bud…" Eret reassured Skullcrusher, weakly patting the Rumblehorn's head. Skullcrusher rumbled softly and draped a wing over Eret as he fell into another heavy sleep.

In the silence, Skullcrusher made a wish to the gods and his former master, Stoick.

'_Odin, Thor, Freyja, all the gods…and my old Rider, Stoick…I beg of you…Don't take Eret away…Please don't take him…Please…let my new master…my friend…live…Please let Eret live…_' Skullcrusher prayed as he curled up next to Eret's bed, one wing still draped over him like a blanket.

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><p>Zenna woke up to the sound of roaring dragons. Getting up, the one-eyed Dragon Doctor realized that Stryka was gone! Fearing that the Dragon Eaters had taken her in the middle of the night, Zenna rushed out of the Ironside Family home…only to see Stryka completely unharmed and being fed by Orland and Kirsten. Then Zenna looked up and saw that a wild Hideous Zippleback had flown over the area.<p>

"Wild Zippleback…steady now, Daniel…" Anya cautioned her brother. "I'm always steady, Anya…Aim…" Daniel said as he loaded something into what resembled a cannon! One look at the device that a dragon trapper would usually use (_and she had seen devices like that when she helped Eret and his crew get rid of them when they moved in to Berk_) and Zenna had launched herself at Daniel screaming, "Don't!"

Daniel yelped as the young woman suddenly tackled him! "Are you crazy?! Were you trying to trap it?!" Zenna yelled, furious. "I-I wasn't, Dr. Zenna!" Daniel stuttered, fearful of her wrath. Anya gently got Zenna off of her brother and began to explain. "This is how my family and I keep the dragons away from Dragater, Zenna. We load these capsules into the cannon and fire them at the dragons. They contain a special eel-smelling smoke that drive the dragons away." As Anya explained, she fired a capsule from the cannon. Zenna watched with fascination as the capsule exploded in front of the Zippleback and a cloud of red smoke erupted. The wild Zippleback roared in annoyance and flew away.

Stryka sniffed the eel smoke and whined, turning her nose up at the scent. "The smoke isn't made with eels and it's harmless to the dragons." Anya reassured Zenna. "I have to say that I'm impressed. How do you guys make all of this?" Zenna remarked, looking at the cannon and loaded capsules. At that moment, Tristan arrived with a bunch of dead and already skinned rabbits which Kirsten promptly took to cook for breakfast. "Ah, my young Orland here is the mastermind of these innovative devices." He said fondly, ruffling Orland's brown hair. "Dad!" Orland giggled.

"You remind me of my Chief…Hiccup's also a great inventor like you." Zenna smiled as she sat down to breakfast with the family. "We're very lucky. Canis and his men didn't think of venturing out here to search for you. I take it that you're raring to go find the Frost Ivy?" Tristan asked Zenna, who nodded quickly.

"Then you better get going if you want to get back to Berk in time. Daniel and Anya will lead you and Stryka. But for your safety, it's best that you head to the meadow on foot. Some of the Dragon Eaters might still be out and about." Kirsten advised them. Nodding, the trio and Stryka headed out.

"Be safe!" Orland called out to them. "We'll try our best, little brother!" Daniel called back with a smile. "I'm 10 years old, not little!" Orland retorted playfully. "Still pretty little to us!" Anya laughed before Stryka let out an urgent warble for them to move along. And Zenna was more than glad to hurry along.

Time was running out!

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><p>Unbeknownst to the Ironsides, Zenna and Stryka…a Dragon Eater had been spying on them. Mouth turned up in a vicious, bloodthirsty smile, the Dragon Eater disappeared into the shadows of the woods to report to Canis…<p>

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><p>Was it morning…? Noon…? Night…?<p>

Honestly, Eret didn't care anymore. Everything just seemed to blur into nothingness as his condition worsened. Hiccup, even though he was busy as Chief, was extremely worried as he kept an eye on him. Eret was now beginning to look really sick, his face pale with only a faint red flush around his cheeks indicating a raging fever. He'd fall into violent coughing fits that would render him unable to breathe for several minutes before sinking into a heavy sleep that gave him no relief. He'd begun to hallucinate, too. And that was after waking up from potent fever dreams of Drago torturing him. In fact when Hiccup arrived to look after Eret, the poor guy had just woken up from a terrifying dream and had hallucinated and thought the young Chief to be Drago and let out a terrified scream before burying under the covers! Luckily Gothi managed to calm Eret down…

Hiccup was just thinking about those things and realized that today was the third day…

And Zenna still hadn't come back yet…

'_Oh gods, Zen, where are you…?_' Hiccup thought, sighing deeply.

"…Chief…?"

Hiccup quickly snapped to attention and noticed that Eret had woken up. The former dragon trapper's eyes were beginning to dull and looked almost completely glazed over.

"H-hey, Eret…Good to see you awake…Uh…are you…?" Hiccup said cautiously, wondering if Eret was delirious from his fever. But Eret looked like he was fully conscious this time, much to Hiccup's relief. "I think so…Is Zenna back from getting the medicine…? I'd really like to get better soon…" Eret mumbled weakly. Hiccup managed a weak laugh. "I know how you feel…I've been sick before…It totally sucks, right?" he said softly. "_Really_, totally sucks…" Eret chuckled weakly.

Hiccup sighed and ran a hand through his auburn hair. "Sorry, man. Zen's not back yet…" he sighed. Eret exhaled deeply, slightly saddened at the news. "But I'm sure she's on her way back now. You know Zenna. She'll…she'll do whatever it takes to get back to you…" Hiccup said quickly. Eret smiled a little bit. "She loves you so much, Eret. Do you know that?" the Chief asked gently. "Of course I do, Hiccup…And she loves _you _too…" Eret replied.

Then looking at Hiccup, Eret whispered, "Hiccup…Can you promise me something?" Hiccup nodded silently and tipped closer to Eret so he could hear him better. "Promise me…that if I…if I don't make it, you'll…you'll tell Zenna that I'll always love her…even in death…and that you'll keep taking care of her for me…Can you promise me that, Chief?" Eret requested.

Hiccup let Eret's words sink in before gravely nodding. "I will, Eret…Zenna's my sister and I'll always look after her." He replied before getting worried.

Was Eret, Son of Eret…_giving up?_

Hiccup then looked at Eret seriously. "But listen to me, Eret…_You're not dead yet_. And I'm asking you not as a Chief…but as a friend…You can't give up just yet. You gotta keep fighting and just hang in there. If you die…we'll all be pretty miserable without you…And Zenna…Gods, Eret…she'll be heartbroken. Just…_please don't give up just yet_. You just hang in there. Can you do that? _Please_?" he said pleadingly. Eret, slightly surprised to see Hiccup so worried about him, managed a nod. "I'm doing the best I can, Hiccup…I'm really trying…" he replied before going into another coughing fit. Hiccup could only watch with increasing worry as Eret coughed himself out and lost consciousness once again.

'_Zenna…I don't want you to hurry but…HURRY!_' Hiccup mentally screamed as Gothi took over his duty as Eret's caretaker for the time being and went outside to do some Chiefing with Toothless.

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><p>"Well…here we are, Dr. Zenna." Daniel said as they arrived at the meadow. Zenna took in the scenery. Everything, from the trees to the ground, was covered in ice and snow. Icicles dangled from the tree branches and the sunlight made them shine like diamonds. "<em>Prwettwy…<em>" Stryka warbled, smiling her gummy smile. "It's beautiful…" Zenna said in agreement.

"And we're in luck. Look, Frost Ivy everywhere!" Anya said, pointing to the snow-white ivy creeping along the ground. With a bag to collect the Frost Ivy in hand, Zenna, Stryka and her two new friends went into the meadow and collected as much Frost Ivy as they could. Zenna took a minute to examine the plant. Frost Ivy was as white as snow with tiny blue berries and was ice cold to the touch.

"It's best to make the brew while the plant's still cold. Luckily, Daniel and I come prepared." Anya said, taking out a mortar and pestle along with a steel pot. Daniel, meanwhile, produced a pile of wood and flint and steel. Then, noticing Stryka, Daniel pocketed the flint and steel. "Would you do the honors, Stryka?" Daniel asked politely. Stryka then used her fire to melt some snow for Anya to use in concocting the cure and lit the wood pile Daniel had set up. Zenna handed Anya a handful of Frost Ivy and watched as the young lady pounded the Frost Ivy, berries and all, into mush and mixed it with melted snow water in the pot.

Once the cure, a milky white liquid had been brewed, Zenna took out her case of glass syringes and loaded all three of them.

"Three syringes? But I thought you said that only one Berkian was sick." Daniel said, confused. "I like to be prepared." Zenna answered, pouring the excess cure into a vial and pocketed a handful of Frost Ivy into her bag.

"This Berkian must be a very special person for you and Stryka to risk it all going here." Anya said with a sly smile as Zenna clutched her lucky pendant to her chest. Zenna looked at Anya strangely before realizing what she meant and blushed.

"Okay! I am not going to listen to girls talk about guys!" Daniel said and quickly covered his ears and went to a nearby tree to hide. Anya rolled her eyes at her brother's sudden immaturity and turned to Zenna, smiling mischievously.

"This sick Berkian…is he your boyfriend by any chance?" she asked. Zenna, still blushing furiously, smiled and said softly, "He is…He's my one true love…"

"What's his name?" Anya asked curiously. "Eret. _Son of Eret_, to be exact." Zenna replied. Anya slightly laughed. "Wouldn't it be easier to call him Eret II?" she giggled. "He likes to have a bit of flair. And he can be like a proud rooster, always carrying on about the things that make him special. But he's a good-hearted man who does his best to do what's right. Eret's pretty selfless too…In fact…the reason why he got sick was because of me…" Zenna said, her face turning sad at her last sentence.

"Your fault? How can that be?" Anya asked softly. "I accidentally dropped a stuffed dragon I made for my brother while we were ice skating…And Eret went to retrieve it and fell into the water when the ice broke…" Zenna said softly. Anya then gave Zenna a reassuring hug. "Well, I'm sure that this Eret fellow's a strong man. He's still hanging in there, I'm sure…waiting for you to come home and heal him…" she said softly.

Zenna could only nod in agreement, hoping for the best.

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><p><strong>Little interaction between Eret and Skullcrusher, slight bromance between Hiccup and Eret, a little Dragon Eater spy suspense and the Ironsides being an incredible dragon protecting family…<strong>

**I can only hope you guys liked this. Feel free to review and give me suggestions for this story. It'll help me grow as a writer **

**Thanks guys!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	15. Chapter 15

**Another update! And this has got to be one of the longest chapters I've written here. Not to mention that a lot of things are going on in here…hope you guys like it!**

**Note: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 15<strong>

"Well, we have what we need. Stryka and I best be on our…" Zenna managed to say before a shrill animal-like cry echoed out! Stryka's ears pricked up and she growled, sensing danger. "What…was…that…?" Daniel said slowly, peeking out from behind the tree. Before the two girls could even reply a group of Dragon Eaters emerged from the icy brush, armed with torches!

Laughing maniacally, the Dragon Eaters threw their torches down. Almost instantly, the snow and ice melted and the meadow was set ablaze!

"Burn! Burn! Burn!" the Dragon Eaters chanted as they surrounded Zenna, Stryka, Anya and Daniel. Stryka roared in alarm and quickly got her Rider and two friends to climb onto her back. "Up, girl!" Zenna yelled and her loyal dragoness took to the skies, just as Canis arrived.

"Aim for the Night Fury!" Canis shouted. His men were armed with bolas that they hurled at Stryka! Deftly, the one-eyed Night Fury dodged bolas left and right. "Come on, girl! We're gonna make it!" Zenna cried out. Then one Dragon Eater hurled his bolas at her!

"Look out, Zenna!" Anya shrieked. The Dragon Doctor heeded her warning too late. The bolas collided with the back of her head with a solid '_**CRACK!**_' knocking Zenna out cold! Stryka let out a shriek of alarm as her unconscious Rider slid off of her back! Good thing Daniel grabbed Zenna by the back of her coat to keep her from plummeting!

"We gotta get out of here! Stryka, fly for it!" Daniel yelled, an unconscious Zenna in his arms. Not needing to be told twice, Stryka beat her wings as fast as she could until she and her passengers vanished into the clouds of an incoming snowstorm. Down on the ground, Canis let out a string of curses.

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><p>Back on Berk, things seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. Gothi wasn't sure how many ice blocks she had already used up in trying to bring Eret's fever down. If anything, his fever kept rising and he was having severe chills now. The rest of the Dragon Riders were already stressed out in waiting for Zenna to return while watching over their sick friend.<p>

Finally Snotlout said, "This is getting hopeless! Zen hasn't returned! What if she doesn't make it back in time?!" feeling completely stressed out. Eret, who had been semi-conscious at the time, snapped to attention. Upon hearing Snotlout's words, the former dragon trapper glared daggers at the Jorgenson boy. "Zenna will make it back, Lout. I know she will." He said as firmly as he could.

Eret's declaration surprised Hiccup and the gang. And to think that Eret was already beginning to act delirious from his fever!

"Eret, you're practically about to knock on Death's door and you're…I can't believe that you're still…" Fishlegs managed to say in shock. "You can't believe that I've still managed to keep my sanity?" Eret asked dryly. "Well…yes…But I can't believe that you're not…giving up just yet." Fishlegs admitted. Eret managed to crack a smile before suddenly clutching his chest.

Astrid was the first to panic. "Gothi!" she screamed for the elder. Eret slumped against the bed, writhing in agony as he clawed at his chest. It was getting worse. His chest felt like it was on fire and he couldn't seem to get enough air! "C-c-can't…b-breathe…! H-h-h-help…" he croaked out feebly as wave after wave of pain washed over him. The last thing Eret remembered thinking before slipping into unconsciousness was where Zenna was and if she was alright…

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><p>"That Canis…why I'll have his hide…"<p>

"Tristan, shush! It's bad enough that she's…and with this confounded…"

"Mommy, what…_confounded_ mean…?"

"…bad and annoying…what it is, Orland…"

Those voices stirred Zenna from her deep sleep. Moaning a little, she opened her eyes to find herself back in the Ironside house, the Ironside family and Stryka hovering over her worriedly. "_Zewnwa!_" Stryka trilled, glad to see her Rider awake and gave Zenna a big, slobbery kiss. "Haha…Y-yeah, good to see you too…" Zenna laughed weakly, wiping dragon spit off of her face. That's when she noticed that her head was bandaged.

Orland came and gave her a hug while Daniel and Anya tended to the stew cooking in a cauldron over the fireplace. Kirsten and Tristan both breathed sighs of relief and tended to the wounded Dragon Doctor. "What happened? The last thing I remember was getting hit in the head…" Zenna mumbled in confusion, putting a hand to her bandaged head. Kirsten smiled sadly. "You got hit by one of the bolas Canis' men launched at you. We were so worried when the four of you came back with you unconscious. You've been out cold since yesterday." She said softly.

_Out cold since yesterday…_

"Y-y-yesterday…?" Zenna stammered out, her one violet eye widening in shock. "It's just a mild concussion, lass. No need to worry…" Tristan said gently. "No need? No need?! I have to get back to Berk _now_!" Zenna shrieked and scrambled out of bed. But when she flung the front door open, a bitingly cold blast of air slapped her in the face! Orland and Stryka both cried at its cold while Anya and Daniel hurriedly shut the door and barred it. But Zenna was enraged.

"What are you guys doing?! Stryka and I have to go if we want to make it back to Berk in time!" she snapped. "Zenna, a snowstorm's come upon Dragater! If you and Stryka leave now, chances are you two might not survive!" Anya told her worriedly. "But we can't stay here!" Zenna cried out, losing her temper. "Well I'm afraid you have to, Dr. Zenna!" Daniel retorted.

That made Zenna shut up. Sitting down next to the fireplace, Zenna put her head in her hands. If she and Stryka had to stay on Dragater Island until the storm passed…how would they make it back home to save Eret in time? How much time would they have left? Was Eret doing okay? Something in Zenna told her that he was starting to slip away…

"Could this get any worse…?" she moaned hopelessly.

Before any of the members of the Ironside family could say anything…things _did _get worse.

All of a sudden, the roof of the Ironside house came crashing down! A whole army of Dragon Eaters descended on the Ironside family, Stryka and Zenna! "Back! Back, I say!" Tristan yelled as he and Kirsten fended off a couple of Dragon Eaters with their swords. Daniel grabbed a shield and used it to keep more Dragon Eaters away from Anya and Orland. Taking out Inferno and putting it into fire sword mode, Zenna clashed with three Dragon Eaters all at once while Stryka pounced and snapped her jaws at any mean soul that came too close.

But even as they fought, more Dragon Eaters came! Suddenly Anya got an idea. "Orland, smoke bomb!" she yelled. Nodding quickly, the youngest Ironside sibling ran to a chest where he stashed all of his equipment and took out a couple of smoke bombs. Zenna got an idea and retracted the blade. "Everyone, take cover!" she screamed.

Stryka then saw her Rider flip Inferno to the Zippleback gas spewing side and roared in alarm. If Zenna tried to cause an explosion in the house, it'll be mass chaos! "Orland, throw me one of those smoke bombs!" Zenna ordered as she used one of her battle sticks to swat a persistent Dragon Eater away and deployed the Zippleback gas. Orland tossed a smoke bomb to Zenna, who threw it on the ground at the same time she sparked the Zippleback gas! Stryka roared and quickly got the Ironside family out of the blast zone and, thankfully, Zenna at the last second before the whole house went _**KABOOM!**_

Zenna shakily got to her feet along with the Ironside family. Orland began to cry as he and his stunned older siblings looked at the smoking remains of the house that had been their home and haven for as long as they could remember. Tristan and Kirsten stared wide-eyed at the remains, littered with the corpses of Dragon Eaters they had slain in their frantic fight to protect themselves or had perished in the explosion.

One look at the corpses made Stryka whimper while Zenna suddenly realized what she had done.

"I killed them…I killed them…I've killed a dragon before…but never a human…I actually killed…I…_killed_…" the shell-shocked Dragon Doctor muttered, falling to her knees in horror over what she had done. Her breathing began to accelerate until she had a full-on hyperventilating attack! Frantically, Kirsten and Tristan wrapped their arms around her to calm her down.

Zenna soon stopped hyperventilating but began to sob. "I killed them…I'm a murderer…" she sobbed out, tears running down her face. "Shhh…Zenna, dear lass, you did nothing wrong…Nothing wrong at all…" Kirsten said softly as she comforted the young Fiersome lady. "Those Dragon Eaters…with their merciless nature and barbaric obsession with eating innocent dragon flesh…they are monsters who deserve to be punished with death." Tristan said gravely. Zenna sniffled and managed to stop crying but still looked so distraught.

"Mom…Dad…What do we do now?" Anya whispered. All around them, the snow swirled in flurries as the snowstorm worsened. Orland shivered while Daniel wrapped his cloak around his little brother. Tristan breathed in the frigid air and sighed. "We'll have to head out and find shelter. Quickly now…" he instructed his family and they began to trudge through the snow. Stryka warbled worriedly at Zenna. Seeing that there was nothing they could really do at the moment, Zenna silently followed.

But they had barely gone a few meters when even worse things happened. A faint animal-like scream tore through the air and, suddenly, a large metal net was thrown over Stryka! "No! Stryka!" Zenna screamed as another army of Dragon Eaters came out of nowhere and ambushed her and the Ironsides! Canis smiled smugly as his men successfully captured the humans and tied the one-eyed Night Fury up.

"Ah, so these are the ones who have been messing with our hunts…" he growled at Tristan and his family. One Dragon Eater had managed to snatch Zenna's satchel, where she had kept the syringes, the cure vial and the bag of Frost Ivy. Zenna could only watch in horror as Canis took the satchel and tossed it into the snow. "Looks like that sick Berkian won't be needing whatever was in that thing anymore." He sneered. Zenna felt her heart sink as Canis barked to his men, "Take them to the dungeons! But the Night Fury goes straight to the kitchen!" and she, Tristan, Kirsten, Anya, Daniel and Orland were dragged away. Stryka roared in fury as the Dragon Eaters separated her from Zenna and struggled to get out of the net. But it was no use…

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><p>It was the fourth day.<p>

And at Berk, things just kept getting worse.

Eret had had a rough night and now, the sun already high up in the sky, he was worse. His windpipe had gotten so swollen that he could barely speak anymore. And he was already slipping in and out of consciousness. Gods, he just wanted everything to just stop…

But most of all…he wanted Zenna.

Hiccup and Astrid were watching over him now and they were both getting worried. "This is really starting to scare me, Hiccup…Zenna hasn't come back yet and Eret's condition just keeps worsening…" Astrid said softly, so as not to wake Eret who was sleeping. Hiccup sighed and rubbed his temples. "Astrid, I'm just as scared as you…" he said.

Unbeknownst to them, Eret had woken up. Already feeling like hell, Eret wanted to sink back into oblivion…but then he heard Hiccup say something that immediately got his attention.

"I should have come with Zenna to Dragater…I keep getting this bad feeling that she and Stryka are in really big trouble…"

Eret's eyes widened when he realized what Hiccup was talking about.

"_You let Zenna and Stryka go to __**Dragater Island**__?!" _he managed to yell hoarsely, bolting upright in bed. Hiccup and Astrid jumped up, startled. "Are you two insane?! Those Dragon Eaters will tear them apart!" Eret exclaimed, angry at both his friends and at himself. Odin, if he hadn't gotten sick then Zenna wouldn't have to risk her life to get the cure!

"Eret…we…we…" Astrid stuttered, unable to really say anything. Then Hiccup realized something. "Eret, you know about Dragater and the Dragon Eaters?" he asked cautiously. Eret sighed, frustrated, and nodded. "Back when I was a dragon trapper, my men and I came to the island by accident…It was an unlucky encounter for us because we had an entire shipment of newly-trapped dragons for Drago with us…Those Dragon Eater…they're ruthless savages. My men and I barely escaped with our lives when they fell upon the dragons…It was horrifying…" he said grimly.

Hiccup and Astrid could only stare at Eret in shock before their friend suddenly tried to get up. "Eret, what are you doing?" Astrid asked frantically. "What does it look like? I'm going after Zenna!" Eret snapped at her and struggled to get out of bed but he was too weak. "Not in your condition, you can't! Eret, it's too dangerous for you!" Hiccup said sternly. But Eret stubbornly tried to get up. In the end, Hiccup and Astrid had to physically restrain him. Eret struggled as hard as he could but couldn't handle the pain and went limp. Hot tears ran down his pale cheeks as he uselessly fisted the sheets.

"I hate this! I hate myself, I hate myself, I hate myself…Stupid, stupid, stupid…I'm so useless!" he muttered under his breath. Hiccup and Astrid both silently agreed to make sure to keep a close eye on Eret from now on. Who knows what he would do to get to Zenna…

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><p>Back on Dragater, the Ironsides and Zenna had been thrown into the dungeons. Zenna huddled in a corner, reeling from all the shock she'd been experiencing. Orland timidly approached her and gave Zenna a hug to try and comfort her. Meanwhile Anya and Daniel were looking around the cell to find a way to escape.<p>

Suddenly Canis arrived. Without another word, he went into the cell and grabbed Zenna roughly by the arm! "Dr. Zenna!" Orland screamed, grabbing the Dragon Doctor's coat. "Leave her alone, Canis!" Tristan tried to keep Zenna away only to get harshly shoved away by Canis. "I'd like to speak to the provider in private…" Canis snarled before giving Zenna a lusty smile. Anya paled when she saw the leader of the Dragon Eaters' face while Daniel charged! "You keep your filthy hands off her!" he yelled only to get punched in the stomach. Zenna struggled to break free but Canis' grip was too strong.

"You leave Zenna alone!" Kirsten cried out as the young maiden was dragged away. "I'll be okay! Don't worry about me! Find a way out and free Stryka!" Zenna yelled to the Ironsides before Canis dragged her out of the dungeons.

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><p>Back on Berk, Eret was getting desperate. He knew that he just had to get to Zenna and quick. He didn't care about his sickness getting worse for all he cared about now was his beloved childhood sweetheart in danger. Finally, when Hiccup and Astrid had been called by Gothi to assist her in something, Eret saw his chance.<p>

With all his willpower and whatever strength he had left, Eret heaved himself out of bed. Groaning from the pain, Eret wobbled unsteadily on shaky legs until he reached the door. Bad timing for him because Hiccup and Astrid just came back!

"ERET, NO!" Hiccup and Astrid both yelled and rushed to get to him. But the former dragon trapper managed to get out of Gothi's house in time and reached Skullcrusher. The Rumblehorn crooned worriedly as Eret clambered onto his back.

"Skullcrusher, come on! We need to go!" Eret said hoarsely. Skullcrusher moaned and shook his head. He could still smell the scent of illness and knew that Eret was still unwell. "Skullcrusher, _go_!" Eret commanded, his voice getting strained. Sensing his Rider's desperation, Skullcrusher was forced to obey and took off.

'_I just need to keep it together for just a little while…_' Eret thought woozily as he tuned out Hiccup and Astrid's pleas to come back.

Skullcrusher had barely flown a couple of meters away from the hut when Eret felt a huge wave of pain and dizziness overwhelm him. "Oh Thor, not now…" he groaned as he tried to keep himself from passing out. Black spots began to appear in his vision…he could feel his whole body betraying him, shutting down…

"_Zen_…" Eret mumbled before his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he passed out, sliding off of the saddle! Skullcrusher panicked as his Rider's weight vanished from his back and looked down in time to see Eret plummeting towards the sea! Letting out an alarm roar, the Rumblehorn did a power dive. Tucking his wings in so he could fall faster, Skullcrusher managed to grab Eret by the back of his vest and pulled up. Quickly, Skullcrusher flew back to Gothi's hut. Hiccup and Astrid were there, standing numbly in shock until Skullcrusher managed to get Eret settled on the floor.

"ERET!" Hiccup and Astrid yelled in alarm, rushing over to the unconscious warrior. Astrid checked his pulse while Hiccup felt his forehead. "Not good…his fever's gone up…" Hiccup muttered, his face grim. "His pulse isn't doing any better. It's completely uneven…sometimes I can't even feel it…" Astrid mumbled before looking at her boyfriend, worry showing in her blue eyes.

"It's been four days, Hiccup…If Zenna doesn't come back with the cure by tomorrow, Eret will…" Astrid trailed off, unable to say anything else. Hiccup glanced at Eret. The poor guy's face had taken a sickly gray shade and his chest was barely rising and falling as he struggled to breathe. Seeing the proud former dragon trapper like this…it just wasn't right.

'_Zenna, please…hurry!_' Hiccup thought desperately as he and Astrid managed to carry Eret back inside…

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><p><strong>The plot thickens! Zenna's been taken captive and Eret's sickness is getting worse…<strong>

**What happens next? Find out in the next chapter of Thin Ice, coming soon!**

**Read and review. Those two things really help me in writing.**

**-GuardianDragon98**


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